Repercussion
by Greysouthpaw
Summary: A scattered Alpha Force are forced to consider their own safety after several life threatening events. Alex is still missing and the rest of the team are on the run, in constant danger. This time Alpha Force must stay alive long enough to find the link between these events and their past, while they begin to question the future of their group. Violence and mature themes.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N.**

Hey there,

Welcome back to another Alpha Force fic. I know I left things at a bit of a crossroads at the end of the last one so here is the follow up, set 18 months after the events of Ransom.

I tentatively call it Repercussion.

Disclaimer: I do not own Alpha Force or any of the characters created by Chris Ryan. To claim otherwise may result in my throat being violently slit in my sleep by a pissed off Ex-SAS trooper ;)

Enjoy.

**Grey.**

* * *

><p>It was a cold miserable evening to walk anywhere, let alone two city blocks.<p>

Rain lashed the dark streets of New York in an uncompromising barrage; while wind tore flags from their poles and ripped lose debris up into dangerous projectiles.

The pretty, dark-skinned girl scowled disapprovingly at the tragic weather, as if hoping she could scare it into behaving. She stood hesitantly under the arch of a doorway clutching her satchel of workbooks to her chest. Behind her the last lights dimmed in the New York University school of Law library. The porous orange brick buildings of the campus looked decidedly less friendly in the late hour.

The lonely student reached into her bag and withdrew her slim touch screen phone. A small light illuminated her bedraggled face and she traced a lazy 'H' with her finger to unlock the device. White light shone against the darkness and she was disappointed to see that there were no new messages from a certain young man, who shared the background photo with her.

Resolute but grumbling, Amber slipped her phone back into her pocket and buttoned her dark coat up tight, turning up the collar to afford greater protection from the elements. She slid her flat satchel up the front of the jacket to keep it dry and held it in place by crossing her arms across her chest.

Ready as she was ever going to be, Amber stepped out into the rain and started striding briskly against the biting wind.

With her head down, concentrating on the journey, she angrily fumed that Hex was running late to pick her up again. By the time Amber had cleared the boundary of the campus, she was already thinking of different creative punishments to inflict on the hacker. Welcoming the associated warmth of the streetlights, she stepped out onto the pavement with long strides, determined to make it home before Hex to make him feel really guilty.

Suddenly Amber's neck bristled and the itch made her stop on the spot.

_Am I just getting cold or is something going on here?_ She wondered internally at her body's involuntary reaction.

Her eyes, gummy from hours of reading case notes, warily scanned the dark streets and buildings surrounding her for any signs of trouble. A lone man in a navy blue parka was standing at the bus stop outside a closed shop, further up the road; the rest of the street was deserted.

There was nothing overtly dangerous about the partially concealed man's appearance and Amber tried to shrug off the feeling that something might be amiss. Putting it down to the cold, she rubbed her goose-bumped arms and continued on her path towards the bus stop.

A roar and hissing heralded the approach of a bus from behind her, the noise startling Amber in her jumpy state. The oversized vehicle pulled to a halt at the designated stop, as she was almost upon it.

Blue Parka remained seated and the bus rolled on without picking up or dropping off a passenger.

_Mustn't have been his bus_, Amber disregarded, as she passed his position.

Her eyes swept over his figure and finding nothing overtly aggressive in his appearance, she stuck with her conclusion and increased her haste to get home.

Amber was just turning the corner of that block when a thought occurred to her. _It is pretty late at night, I'm pretty sure that was the last bus for the evening._

With this realisation in her head, she was preparing to covertly peek around the corner when she heard the sound of rapid footsteps coming from that direction.

* * *

><p>Hex leaned forward as far as he could in the driver's seat of the black BMW M5 Sedan to squint out the windshield. The rain was bucketing down, flowing a torrent that seemed greater then what his windscreen wipers could deal with.<p>

Unconfidently, he left his right hand on the steering wheel and reached down with his left to retrieve his phone from the pocket of his black trousers. The rolled up sleeves of his gunmetal grey shirt meant that the orthotic wrist brace on his right hand was exposed.

Made by Spectra, the black support brace kept his wrist in a neutral alignment with rigid supports strapped tightly with heavy-duty Velcro bands. The functional splint was now part of his life and one of the final stages in the ongoing rehabilitation process, which he was undergoing after taking a bullet to the forearm over a year ago.

Hex gave the guilty hand a dirty look, as he bitterly thought of the countless hours he had spent rebuilding grip strength and doing dexterity exercises.

After such a long time of relying on his right, it had initially been very frustrating to relearn everything with his left instead, which he had to make do with until his right had recovered. Having Amber around had helped him immeasurably during this initial period of clumsiness, his left was now more dexterous then his slow right and had far superior strength.

Finally retrieving his phone, he cursed when he saw the time displayed on the digital display. He was late. Working as a researcher for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA, his hours were very flexible but often meant that he was kept late when his team got caught up in their projects. Hex loved working there, where he was primarily working with developing advanced cryptanalysis software.

Amber was also very proud of Hex for getting headhunted for such exciting and important work, but needless to say she was often displeased by the hours he kept. In that sense, Hex found himself torn between two passions, which made his being late this evening all the more significant.

He replaced both hands on the wheel and indicated off the highway and onto the city exit he wanted. A wry smile split his face as he drew closer to his girlfriend and apartment. _The proximity of the research centre was always just a bonus_, he rejoiced often on the ten-minute drive back to the upscale place where the couple lived.

Relying on the late hour and poor conditions to save him from police, Hex lowered his foot on the accelerator a little deeper. His grin grew larger as his revs climbed in the powerful car. The sly smile he wore was for his secret vice, one that Amber constantly berated him about too.

It wasn't that he got a huge buzz off going fast or anything, it was simply a desire of his to beat the clock, to get to his destination quicker. When you dealt with high-powered software, anything slower then near instantaneous was not quick enough.

Reluctantly Hex slowed for an intersection and it was just as he was clearing it that the unseen moving truck explosively T-boned his vehicle from the side.

* * *

><p>Quickly weighing up her options, Amber turned as quietly as she could and started walking again. She reached for her phone with one hand while the other kept her bag in place and she entered her speed dial for Hex. Seconds seemed to drag as the dial tone rang through, hazarding a glance over her shoulder Amber noticed the man in the blue parka round the corner.<p>

Thinking fast Amber crossed the road as the dull tone rung in her ear.

"Hey.." Hex's voice started through the small speaker, before Amber cut over top of it.

"Hex where the hell are you? I think there is some guy following me, I'm really.."

She stopped her self mid-rant as Hex's voice continued and she realised in frustration and panic that she had only reached his answer phone.

Fighting the impulse to angrily throw the device on the ground and curse the man who had bought it for her, Amber peeked over her shoulder instead. A shiver racked her again; this time it definitely had nothing to do with the cold as she saw a figure in a blue parka crossing the road to meet her path.

Pushing down the impulse to run that came with the dump of adrenaline her fear provided, Amber took a deep breath and repeated her message for the sake of Hex's answer phone.

She didn't need to turn back to know that her stalker was mere metres behind her now, his cadence and the noisy chafe of the jacket betrayed him.

"Amber Middleton?" He hoarsely enquired in a shout to be heard over the rain.

Amber turned suspiciously, having recently learnt first hand that her fame and prosperity made her a potential target to the lower elements.

"Who wants to know?" She shouted back rudely, keeping her distance from her follower and freeing one hand to keep in front of her. Her second hand trailed diagonally up to rest at the collar of her jacket, a harmless looking gesture that actually provided her with a disguised defensive hand position.

For the first time Amber was able to take in greater details of the stalker's appearance as she faced him. He was a Caucasian male, about six foot with a solid build, shaven head and a stubbled chin. She couldn't place his accent but it was definitely not from New York.

An unpleasant smile split his face, like that of shark before it dines.

"Well that about answers my question." He concluded and suddenly stepped into her.

Amber felt the impact in her abdomen and wondered for a second why the man had punched her before her training took over. With the man already so close to her, Amber's arsenal of strike were limited and she instinctively resorted to one of the most basic yet effective self-defence techniques.

With her right hand splayed, she stabbed her fingers at his eyes as hard as she could.

She felt the head snap back as her fingertips made contact with both gelatinous orbs. A terrible scream of pain and insult escaped from her blinded stalker. The instinct to survive overcame any squeamishness this sensation caused and she quickly compensated; changing the direction of the attack from backwards to down, turning the gouge into a scratch. Amber finished the brutal rake of his face and avoided his hand as it flew towards his ruined eyes.

Amber forgot the high keen of hurt emitting from the injured follower, when she looked down and noticed the knife suspended in her torso.

A still black handle silhouetted against the grey pavement was all that remained in sight of the bladed weapon. Amber just stared at the imbedded foreign object with dull eyes, as she fought a sudden wave of dizziness to stay on her feet.

* * *

><p>The young hacker was jolted sideways in his seat, his bulky frame straining against the seatbelt, as the large truck smashed into the rear driver's side of the BMW. Front and curtain airbags deployed immediately after impact, the safety system cushioning the interior of the vehicle and in all probability, saving his life.<p>

Glass shattered and tyres shrieked as Hex's car was spun off the road sideways and through the front of a coffee shop, where it finally came to a stop.

Dazed from the collision and still reeling from the suddenness of the accident, Hex fumbled for the door handle to the car. The loud bang from the crash still echoed in his ears, but he finally managed to find the door release. He pulled with weak hands and spilled out of the vehicle and onto the glass-covered floor of the coffee shop.

There he rested on his hands and knees, trying to clear his head. A steady trickle of blood dripped onto the carpet of debris from a small cut above his eye.

Hex looked around at the destruction of the café and breathed a sigh of relief to note that it was abandoned. A path was carved straight through the front window from his cars trajectory; the wooden chairs and tables were strewn to aside, leaving a clear line to the window.

The pneumatic hiss of airbrakes could be heard outside as the truck that had hit him limped to a stop outside the disaster scene. Hex heard a door slam as the driver disembarked the vehicle.

Deciding to see if the driver was injured and to demand an explanation, Hex tried to push himself to his feet. His hand immediately dug into a long shard of glass from the broken window and he promptly abandoned this idea and knelt once more to address the new wound. A four inch dagger of glass was pressed longways into his right hand, luckily the nerve damage he had previously sustained meant that his recovering right felt very little at all.

_Nice when you accidentally cut yourself, not so much when you want to hold your girlfriend's hand. _Hex sourly reflected, as he removed the jagged foreign object.

The crunching of footsteps on broken glass at the entrance, drew his attention. He looked up from his hand to see the shadow of a man outlined against the light from outside. The shadow scanned the destruction slowly, taking it all in before turning slightly to inspect the car that had sunken into the shadows. Light momentarily caught the figure for an instant with this movement.

It was just long enough for Hex to see the silenced pistol that the driver held in front of his body.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N- **Nice to see so many people back again for another adventure :) Apologies for the delay in updates, my current contract is keeping me busy and out of trouble.

Enjoy chapter two!

**-Grey.**

* * *

><p>Hex froze in place on the littered coffee shop floor, knowing that any movement would create noise. With all injuries forgotten, his calculating brain rapidly fired neurons, trying to find a way out of the precarious situation. His body shook from the activation of his sympathetic nervous system, his muscles on edge ready to explode into action.<p>

His assassin struggled to see very far in the darkness of the invaded building and felt obliged to enter so he could confirm the kill. Moving as quickly and quietly as he could, the wraith made his way around to the driver's side of the car, white Reeboks crunching loudly on the debris. He led with the pistol, a Glock 17 that was lengthened by a silencer.

The man crouched down to check the cab of the damaged vehicle. It was then that he noticed the prone form of his target, facedown with his arms splayed above him, just outside the driver's door. The killer came to a halt right by Hex's head and raised his pistol to lazily aim at the young man's skull.

There was no rush for him to execute the wounded hacker.

With a movement too fast for the shooter to capture, Hex lunged forward with his left hand and plunged his shiv of glass straight down through the offender's foot. He rolled aside immediately after his attack as the first suppressed round bit into the ground where he had once lain.

The muffled crack of the round was drowned out by an inhuman scream, as the shooter crumpled forward towards his crippled foot. A once pristine shoe was dyed crimson red from the hideous gout of blood, which surged out of the ragged puncture site half way down the foot. The long, jagged shard of glass held fast in the wound and provided an exit for the scarlet fluid that poured from around it.

Hex for his part, wasted no more time and adrenaline lent him the energy to spring to his feet beside the ailing man.

In the few split seconds he had to analyse the scene in front of him, he chose a weapon from the ruined furniture and turned back to finish the job. Hex swung a wooden chair back over his shoulder to gather momentum, before hurling it around in front of him like a fake wrestler on American TV. The solid piece of furniture collected the assassin at the back of the head with devastating force, smashing him forward from his knelt position. The power of the shot was so great that the chair broke around its point of contact and Hex found himself holding half a chair, as he stood over the disabled opponent.

He discarded the broken remains of his improvised weapon and gave the man a hard kick to the head to make sure he was really down for the count. _This was a targeted attempt on my life, _Hex realised with a mix of fear and outrage at the implications of the concept. His rage punctuating the kick.

Ignoring the blood and the unnatural angle of the villain's neck, Hex rolled the body over to retrieve his firearm.

Not normally one to use a gun, Hex was rattled by the personal nature of the attack and felt stupid that he didn't have a weapon in the moment when he needed one most. Always a quick learner, the young hacker didn't plan on being caught out twice. Hex picked up the silenced death with a careful reverence, making sure he kept his finger clear of the trigger guard.

With infinite care he placed the heavy weapon on the roof of the car while he tore open the protective Velcro pouch that was slung diagonally across his chest. His most treasured possession, the revered palmtop, sat snugly in its nest, amazingly undamaged from the collision. Hex sighed in relief at the sight of his favourite toy safe and sound.

Apprehensive about staying at the scene much longer, Hex snatched the pistol back up off the roof and without a shred of remorse he delivered one final kick into the corpse to clear it from the drivers side door. Hex crossed his fingers before keying the ignition on the battered BMW, willing the engine to turn over.

It took a few tries but eventually the starter motor caught and he slipped the vehicle into reverse. With a harsh rasping, the car slowly rolled backwards out of the shop front and out onto the street. Hex pushed the vehicle into first gear with the most care he had ever shown a vehicle and clumsily moved his dull right foot to try and find the gas pedal. He kicked a loose object at his feet; out of instinct he reached for the small item and held it under the light for inspection.

It took Hex a moment to recognise the cracked screen of his cellphone, with a hint of trepidation he pressed one of the keys and was pleasantly surprised to see the device light up.

His pleasant feeling was quickly quashed as the device revealed that he had four text messages, one missed call and one new voice mail. Hex had a feeling he knew who they were from. _If someone came after me then they might have went after Amber too! _He concluded in dread. Sirens got louder and faint flashing lights could be seen in the distance as Hex took off.

Driving dangerously one-handed, Hex punched the keys to hear his voice mail as he pushed his damaged car towards Amber.

* * *

><p>The girl in question wavered unsteadily back on her feet from her incapacitated assailant, still reeling from the shock of being stabbed.<p>

No pain registered in her mind, as Amber tried to get her head around the implications of the black obstruction protruding from her stomach. In panic, Amber vividly remembered Alex being stabbed eighteen months ago, she had never seen so much blood in her life. Her mind drew forth images of the seconds it took before her friend realised he was wounded. She felt like she had just reached this stage now, aware she had been stabbed but still too jacked up on adrenaline to feel the critical wound.

In the corner of her vision the blinded man in the blue jacket gingerly pawed at his face, assessing the damage.

Shakily, Amber lowered a hand to the grip to keep the weapon still and minimise further internal injury. The blade oddly, only felt loosely embedded in the wound and this contact was almost enough to wrench it free. Remembering the sluice of gore that accompanied the withdrawal of Alex's wounding weapon she hesitated. There was still no pain though and her curiosity got the better of her. With a light tug the blade drifted free of its lodging. To Ambers relief there was no gout of blood or innards accompanying it.

Only a small thud as her satchel fell out from under her shirt.

Realisation dawned on her as she spotted the small neat hole that was punched through the material. She lifted the lifesaving accessory from the ground to inspect the hole closer. _That is the last time I complain about having to carry my textbook, _she decided as she found a formidable dent in the hard covered, three hundred page, Intermediate Criminal Law Manual.

With her own crisis averted she turned back to her wounded stalker.

The sight that met her was horrific to say the least.

One of his eye sockets was half empty, a punctured eyeball morbidly slumped in its hollow. The deflated orb sat useless, staring without vision in an obtuse direction. His other eye was quickly becoming difficult to observe from the swelling that had occurred. His eyelid and eyebrow were already extremely purple and engorged, making vision almost impossible.

Four long bloody gashes stretched down the centre of his face, scarring both his cheeks and marring any good looks he may once have possessed. They marked the trail of Ambers desperate nails. A combination of blood and ocular fluid gruesomely stained the cheek on the ruined side and dripped from the distraught man's chin.

Small whimpers of agony passed the stalkers lips as he fought to control his breathing and blindly fumbled for an object in his pocket.

Amber suppressed the urge to vomit at the sight of the hideous injury and instead, wisely conformed to another base urge instead and ran for it.

"See ya later." She yelled cruelly over her shoulder at the blind man before turning to focus on her escape.

Unwilling to wait for her blinded follower to find whatever he was looking for, Amber sprinted down the block, trying to put some distance between herself and the scene of her brutal confrontation. A buzzing in her pocket caused her to halt for a brief second while she retrieved her phone. Relief caught hold of her and lifted her like a warm breeze as she saw the caller ID.

Hex.

* * *

><p>"Where are you?" Were the first words she heard the instant that she answered.<p>

"Uh I'm coming up to the corner of ahhhh." Amber replied between puffs, as she struggled to read the street signs from a distance.

"Never mind, I see you. Are you okay?" Hex cut her off.

A noisy clattering caught up behind her as the scratched and severely dented black V8 pulled up beside her. A high squeal rung out, as Hex slowed the car to a stop.

Amber took in the complete picture of her once pristine BMW, speechless at its current state.

"Am I okay? Is my Beamer okay?" Amber shrieked as she slunk around to the passenger side, wincing as she noticed more damage to it on her way.

"What the hell happened?" She corrected herself as she climbed in and saw Hex's battered state.

The cut from his head had stopped bleeding but the evidence of it had carried down the whole left side of his face. His shirt and hair were flecked with glass and blood from his own violent stabbing.

Ignoring the sweat, glass and blood, the two descended into a quick but tender hug. Their lips met in soft appreciative kiss, giving Hex a moment to reflect how lucky he was and how good she always tasted. Amber pushed him away, her expression demanding greater explanation before he got anything else.

"Some maniac tried to kill me with his truck." Hex offered her, gesturing to the ruined car with his good hand.

The movement drew her eye and she caught sight of the elongated pistol in his lap.

Hex noticed her look of shock and the path of her vision.

"Did I mention he decided to get out and try finish the job when that didn't work?" Hex elaborated darkly, reluctant to go into further detail and turning back to face the road.

"What happened to you?" he pressed, clunking the car into what was left of first gear and carefully accelerating.

"Some guy with a knife followed me from uni, couldn't keep his eyes off me so I helped him with the problem." Amber answered him causally, sounding a lot more comfortable with the ordeal then she was.

Hex noticed the inconsistency between her words and her expression. He forced a smile for her sake and slid a supportive hand across to squeeze hers.

"It seemed personal Hex," The girl confessed with a nervous glance at her forever-strong driver.

The hacker nodded having drawn a similar conclusion, _too many coincidences_.

"Whoever they were they knew who they were after, which means that we've got to get out of here and quickly." He declared firmly, his sharp eyes still not straying from the road.

A tinge of sadness ached in Amber at the thought of having to go on the run. She had come to love the simple life that Hex and her had built for themselves over the last year. Her initial apprehension at studying towards being a lawyer had dissipated at the end of her first semester. As any close friend would bear testament to, Amber was an argumentative person by her very nature and she had come to realise that she could do a lot of good in the world through the courtroom.

She also knew how much Hex's work meant to him especially during his recovery, to take him away from that pained her greatly. Amber looked out the window so Hex couldn't see her forlorn expression; she knew she was being silly and a bit sentimental.

Thinking of things she loved Amber was struck by a realisation.

"Hex, you don't think this is something to do with Alpha Force do you?" She suggested.

The beat-up driver frowned in concentration at the idea, taking his time to carefully word an answer before replying.

"Could be," He conceded impartially, "That last mission six months ago did feel somewhat unresolved."

Amber nodded in agreement, while they had gotten some results they had not managed to find the person culpable for organising the criminal activities. Leads had seemingly dried up and the case became dead in the water, in frustration the four remaining members of Alpha Force had parted ways to return to their lives once again.

Alex's absence throughout all the proceedings was acutely noticed.

"I think we need to get in contact with the rest of the group. They could be in danger too." Amber blurted out in a hurry, her thoughts finally bursting through her lips.

_If someone wants us dead, it is conceivably part of an attack on Alpha Force as a whole. _Hex reasoned. _Li, Paulo, even Alex could be facing an attempt on their lives right now!_

"You're right," He agreed resolutely, dropping his foot further on the gas. "We need to get our bugout kits and get to the others as soon as possible."

The bugout kit was an idea that Alex had floated years ago, the word bugout coming from a military term used to describe rapidly escaping from a hostile force. It was basically a small bag filled with the necessities in case there was ever the need for the owner to flee on very short notice. Contents included, clothes, rations, a basic first aid kit, some cash and passports.

Alex had described it as a natural extension of his survival tin; a bigger container for when you were in bigger trouble. Although reluctant at first, the rest of the group took on the idea and slowly built theirs up over the years. Each customised their own with extra items according to the individual and their priorities.

On thoughts of their ghost eyed friend and his legacy the car fell silent.

Both occupants lost in memories of the quiet boy from Northumbria who left them over a year ago. Hex shouldered the guilt for his leaving in silence; never admitting his shame, even to Amber. _I was too hard on the guy in my desperation to get Amber back; I can't believe I punched one of my best friends! _Hex despaired once more, the thoughts weighing him down. Anchoring him in the past.

His girlfriend cleared the air by placing her hand gently on his thigh. As if reading his mind she reassured him.

"We'll find Alex too, Hex. Then we will figure this one out as an Alpha Force at full strength." Amber promised him sweetly.

He wanted to believe her, more then anything in the world, but for the time being his focus fell only on their safety. For him, what would happen next seemed secondary to making sure that she was safe.

Hex answered by pulling over the car to the side of the road, he had consciously chosen to park around the corner from their place in case the apartment was under observation.

"Okay five minutes max, in and out. We grab the bugout kits and anything else handy, then we are gone." He instructed strictly, climbing out slowly under the grief of his aches and pains.

"Right, get our stuff then get to the others. Too easy." Amber concluded confidently as she shoved her door closed and followed him out onto the pavement.

* * *

><p>The couple braced together with linked arms as they made their way to the stairwell of their place.<p>

Amber swiped her security card in the slot, while Hex conspicuously scanned the rest of the street for any threats. The street was empty bar a pizza delivery boy getting back into his vehicle. _I don't think Dominoes wants us dead_ Hex thought wryly and turned back in time to see the light above the door flick from red to green.

Amber pushed through the unlocked security door and surrendered the lead on the stairs to her large boyfriend. Hex forged forward on the stairs eyeing every small detail warily on the way to their floor, his paranoia too strong to have allowed them to use the elevator. The couple were breathing heavier by the time they made it to outside their door on the second floor.

Amber held up a hand to stop Hex before he could start unlocking the door. She silently placed an ear to the door and listened intently. Except for the steady hum of the refrigerator there was no other noise from their place. Hex took the cue from her nod that he could now proceed and opened the door.

"It doesn't sound like anyone is here waiting for us," Amber whispered following him through the door, he deadlocked it after her and set the security chain. What followed was a short systematic sweep of their home for listening devices or traps.

"Nothing is out of place," Hex finally agreed, having satisfied himself that their home was secure.

And a home it was indeed. Tastefully decorated by Amber, the two-bedroom studio apartment was the size of most houses and fully furnished as one. Two crème couches boxed in the widescreen television and separated it from a large dining area and kitchen. The pair shared the master bedroom and left the other spare as a study and guest room.

Photos of the young couple adorned the walls along with pictures of family and friend. Amber stopped sentimentally in front of the pictures for a moment while Hex dug out their desired bags.

On the heavy bookshelf by the door two photographs took centrepiece.

The first was of Amber's family, her late mother, father and uncle. The three untimely dead smiled out of the frame at their last living relative. The second was of her adopted family, the four international teens that had made their way into her life after their mutual stranding and survival on a desert island.

Hex returned with the two bags and threw Amber the larger of the two.

He came to stand beside her and opened his mouth to say something at the tears that were mounting in her eyes.

All thought of words were banished from his mind as something heavy smashed into their door. The tremendous crash echoing through the room.

Several inches of light opened at the edge of the door, further advancement halted by the sturdy security chain. From the other side, the yelling of men could be heard as an assault group tried to organise a way to bypass the door.

The barrel of a silenced machine pistol was shoved through the gap in the door and several muffled thumps were audible as the gunman began firing blindly into the apartment.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- **Apologies for the delay, laptops are in limited supply out in the bush. A very special chapter since it is dedicated as a late birthday present to I read not write.

Happy Birthday and enjoy your break :)

**-Grey.**

* * *

><p>Bullet holes tore a line across the wall as the arm poking through the door fired unsighted shots, trying to hit the couple on the other side.<p>

From their position on the hinged side of the door, Hex cradled Amber in relative safety. Both pairs of eyes were glued to the machine pistol as it swung an arch around the apartment hungrily searching for them with deadly lead. A second hand poked through the crack in the door and slid up to the chain. The fingers grasped at the securing and skittered as they tried to free it from it's sturdy housing.

Seeing the imminent entry, Hex did something he never thought he would do. Leaving Amber where she was, he took a stealthy step up the door and raised his hands. His stolen, silenced pistol coughed as he squeezed off a round. The 9mm slug erupted from the suppressed muzzle and made the short distance to its target in less then a second.

The gunman dropped his automatic pistol out of reflex, with a pained scream as the bullet ripped into his exposed forearm. An ugly gout of blood painted the wall crimson in silhouette behind it.

Hex barely winced when he realised that he had dealt almost the exact same injury he had sustained eighteen months ago. His colder, harder side had taken control and left little room for emotions like pity.

The injured and bleeding gunman was too slow to remove his other hand before Hex struck again. Pressing the silencer right up against the flailing hand that had been struggling with the chain, Hex pinned the palm against the door.

Without hesitation he pulled the trigger a second time.

The round was even quieter this time as the restrained hand absorbed a greater portion of energy from the barrel. A gruesome, chunky mix of blood and metacarpal bones exploded onto the door, leaving a starshaped smatter. The wrecked hand was withdrawn with a renewed desperation and whimper of pain.

Hex let it go, the outrage of his home being invaded beginning to fade and his logical nature beginning to override.

He turned at the sound of a loud scraping and found Amber with her shoulder dropped deep on their heavy bookshelf, shunting it towards the door. Pleased with her initiative he hurried to help Amber block the entrance. Moans of pain and yells of anger etched the frame of the door as their combined effort moved the makeshift barrier into place.

Amber pivoted in place to stare at her boyfriend for a solution. Her shoes squelching in the growing tide of scarlet that crept in from under the door.

"Good thinking." Hex commended quickly, having assessed the blocked entrance in obvious satisfaction.

"We still need to get out of here Codeboy." She reminded him, smiling despite herself at his praise. Shock from his earlier actions was still lined on her face.

"The bedroom!" He suggested with adrenal-fuelled enthusiasm, vaulting the couch to cross the room quicker.

"Probably not the best time for that." Amber drolly quipped, but she followed him anyway, caught in the contagion of his purpose.

She caught up to find him standing in front of the two metre square window in their bedroom that looked out over the small green garden below. Having enough experience to write a book on the subject, Amber recognised his thoughtful expression and she took care not to fracture his thinking. Instead she started to delve through their shared cupboard on the opposite end of the room.

Hex continued to muse at the window, his mind calculating a way out. Thousands of dollars of designer clothes were unceremoniously hurled onto the couple's double bed, as Amber dug through the storage space for a desired item. She had an instant to stuff her prize, a short wrapped package about a foot long, into her bugout bag before the door to their apartment shuddered violently.

They were almost out of time.

The prospect of death raced closer and Hex was forced to go with the half-baked scheme he had devised in the last minute.

"Amber." He yelled in desperation, "We've got to get out now!" His intelligent eyes caught hers and proposed the drastic plan with a flick of his pupils.

As if in response to his yell, further gunshots answered from the hallway as the invaders attempted to shoot their way past the door. Mulched chips of wood sprayed from the door with each hammer blow.

Gunfire ceased and was replaced with silence.

Suddenly the door exploded inwards on its frame as it was busted in by a powerful external force. The combined weight of the attacking force fell on the fractured entrance and the shelf reinforcing it was shunted clean out of the way.

The attackers had breached the threshold.

* * *

><p>In the same moment the door gave out, on the opposite side of the building another entry point was being exploited.<p>

In a dramatic crash the large bedroom window shattered into a rain of dangerous descending crystal. Two bullets from Hex in quick succession had effectively demolished the wall of glass in front of them. Their was a moment of shocked hesitation before the linked couple hurtled out after the dazzling display out into the night.

In the split seconds before the door gave way Amber had snatched up the mattress from their bed to cushion their fall. It now fell just ahead of them, Amber's grip lost by the effort required to get it out the window.

Their rapid descent was brought to an abrupt halt by the grassy floor of the small garden outside. The couple's impact was spared the unforgiving ground thanks to their expensive piece of bedding. Hex reminded himself never to complain about their mattress being too soft again!

They lay for a blissful second with faces buried in the squashed bedding, stunned by the fall.

Rapid, heavy footfalls up in their apartment returned Amber's senses in a flash. In one smooth movement she rolled off the edge of the destroyed mattress and to her feet. With two hands that had been perfectly manicured at the start of the evening, Amber hastened a still groggy Hex from the demolished bed with a firm tug on his good arm.

Still shaking off the sudden deceleration, the young man from London found his footing and with the help of his slender partner he started running. His head pounded with each step as he unquestioningly followed the guidance of his lifeline; her clasped hand leading him away from the danger.

* * *

><p>On the complete other side of the world Li was brazenly heading straight into the face of danger.<p>

Overcast skies blanketed the South Pacific Ocean and a staunch wind whipped up sizeable undulation in the frigid morning seas. Braving these temperamental waters was a very large older vessel, made up of a latticed patchwork of rusting steel plates. It flew a Japanese flag and the faded writing on the side read 'Kanni Basami'.

Dwarfed by its bulk was a second smaller ship that pulled up alongside it, the bland coloured smaller vessel merging with the mighty shadow of the giant.

An athletic young woman was perched precariously on the rubber edge of a Rigid Inflatable Boat or RIB as it matched the pace of the gargantuan ship. A skinny, pale man with a blonde goatee wrestled with the powerful outboard motor to keep the ship as close as possible to the steel hulled monstrosity. The exertion showed through on his face despite the fact that it was being partially obscured by an oversized red windbreaker.

"That is about as close as I can get ya Li." The struggling man called over the waves and combined noise of two ships. His rough New Zealand accent was distinct in its inflection even under the extreme conditions.

In a black wetsuit with a matching beanie on her head, Li's outline was now barely distinguishable from the dull backdrop of the larger vessel. The powerful muscles in her thighs were coiled and ready to release, the cold Pacific biting, fleetingly up her legs with each rise and fall on the bow wave. Daringly, she removed one hand from the bordering rope to give the tenacious Kiwi a thumbs up before turning her attention back to the boarding.

"Thanks Craig!" She called out in vain, before launching herself towards the steel hull.

For a moment in time she hung suspended, supported by neither ship nor ocean, until her momentum carried her into the side of the Kanni Basami. Her fingers scrambled painfully against the hard metal as the danced to try and find a purchase on the rope that dangled against it. Callused fingers, housed in a pair of dark Nomex flight gloves finally found a grip and her descent was halted to hang from her strong arms.

The RIB peeled away from the Japanese boat and made for a distant shadow; the captain satisfied that Li was now well enough placed to get aboard.

The girl in question took a deep centring breath, closed her eyes and imagined the quiet, modest interior of her dojo for a serene second. Having found her calm, Li opened her eyes and looked up the length of the dark rope, tens of metres above her head she could see where it disappeared over the rail.

The titanium split head, grappling hook at the end of it had ensured that the rope had a firm mounting for her to climb to. Getting the hook on board had taken several throws but the result was a safe concealed passage onto the larger boat.

With her goal in sight the Asiatic girl started her ascent. Had there been any witnesses, they would have noticed that she climbed the rope like a professional; using mainly her legs by folding the rope with one foot under the other before putting her weight on the supported foot and straightening the bunched leg.

Years of climbing experience made short work of the rope and in mere minutes she was stealthily pulling her lithe body onto the deck of the boat.

Li was on board.

* * *

><p>A mischievous smile light her face as she took a knee to get her bearings and remember what her mission was onboard of the ship.<p>

Stealth and sabotage were two concepts she was very well versed in practically and they were the key components of her task that early morning. Li would ensure that the Kanni Basami's navigational equipment suffered a catastrophic failure therefore preventing it from carrying out its grisly task.

She shrunk her figure to conform to the contours of a nearby ledge, as a cone of light swept over her position. No alarms or cries of discovery allowed her to release her held breath, as the beam moved on from her hiding spot. The black Aquasocks Li wore allowed for maximum movement with minimum noise and she rose from her alcove to survey the deck.

Silently she counted five sailors on the main deck huddled behind the wheelhouse, sheltering their cigarettes from the wind. A sixth man wandered the length of the deck shining a high-powered torch over the face of the ship and periodically over the side. Li easily avoided the patrolling seaman, quietly enthralled by the thrill of remaining unseen and made her way closer to the bridge.

_Nice one Li, your super sneaky, ninja skills are as sharp as ever,_ she congratulated herself warmly at her stealth.

A move that turned out to be premature since powerful halogen lights suddenly illuminated the entire deck. The infiltrator tried to shy from the revealing glow and blinding flash but it was too late. Shouts in Japanese carried to her ears, brought in by the bracing wind in the half-light of the morning.

Halting where she was in the narrow space between the rail and one of the towering overhead cranes. With infiltration out of the question, Li stepped out from her cover hoping to make a dash for the bridge. The sight that met her was less then encouraging. Dozens of Japanese sailors swarmed the deck in a desperate search for her.

Accordingly it was with a heavy heart that she pulsed off the spot and into a sprint for the centre of the ship. With so many people above deck it was only a matter of seconds before she was noticed and the closest men tried to stop her.

* * *

><p>The first defender stepped directly into her path to try and stop her from proceeding closer to the centre, Li did not even slow her pace. Instead she raised an elbow horizontal and simply let her speed create force for the blow. The calcified edge of her Ulna smashed into the bridge of the defenders nose, pulping the cartilage and blowing the man backwards from his feet.<p>

With that, the fifty-five kilo woman kept her momentum and increased her stride to leap over the prone form of the sailor, who weighed almost twice as much.

The sailor was not alone however and it was barely two steps later when Li had bounded into the confined alley ahead, formed by a wall and the rail, that she faced the next one.

Like his predecessor, he too felt determined to block the determined girls path, the shock at his friends' downfall at the hands of the slight woman was plain on his face. There was no time for thoughts in her head as she evaded the sailors, efficiency of movement dictated her action.

Again Li did not hesitate nor did she slow. Utilising her speed and no small deal of agility, she altered her path slightly and took a sideways step onto the wall itself. Springing her weight forwards off the wall she leapt past the guard narrowly avoiding him. Almost as if an afterthought, she raised the hand that was closest to him and swung it out in a chopping motion as her body passed his. The sharp blade of her hand landed just behind his ear, at the edge of the mastoid, to spill him face first, into the rail.

A third man stood immediately in her way as the path narrowed, acting on instinct she dropped to her side and kept her body as straight and contained as possible. A combination of speed, the material of her outfit and the moisture on the deck allowed her to slide freely across the metal and straight between the baffled sailor's legs. Before the astounded man could even turn, she was on her feet once more and running again.

Her whereabouts however were very well known now and the numbers and aggression increased with each man she dispatched. Having dodged the third guard she now found herself facing another three and two of them were armed. The first of which brandished a heavy truncheon-like flashlight, the second an evil looking gaffing hook. The third sailor was unarmed but of formidable stature, a real bull of a man who stood at the ready behind his two comrades.

Li skidded to a stop, weighing up her options and considering her chance of escape.

"These Vego activists are getting prettier every year." Gaffing Hook sneered in heavily accented English, the light catching on the cruel hook he had chosen for a weapon.

"Hmmph I'm sick of these damn Greenpeace activists." His large unarmed friend snorted in disgust, eying the slight woman that stood in front of them. The narrow greedy eyes in his face bored holes in her fiercely.

The gravity of the situation steadily increased around Li and she realised with a regret that she was left with only one way out.

_Three against one, yeah that seems fair, _she thought sarcastically and more then a little apprehensive at the prospect of multiple opponents. _With weapons too, _she added bitterly and with increasing unease. She slowly started to pace back and forth on the spot, her eyes fixed squarely on the contenders, very much akin to a caged lion or tiger.

"Two problems here Boys; firstly I'm no Vegetarian." Li jousted back, her tone every bit as hard and unforgiving as her hands.

The mysterious young woman stopped moving and stretched her head across from one shoulder to the next with an audible crack.

"Secondly; I may be green but I've never been all that good at the whole peace thing."

With those final distracting words, Li circled into striking range on her opponents and attacked.


	4. Chapter 4

Li knew the odds were well stacked against her, given the introduction of weapons to the already overwhelming numbers. Her only hope was to minimise damage to herself. Escape was not looking likely anymore given the rough seas and deck swarming with sailors, which left her only two options left.

Surrender or try and dissuade further attack by doing something drastic.

_Neutralise the greatest threat first._

This was the mantra Li repeated in her head as she moved in for her assault.

Her threat assessment had been completed in the moments earlier and had determined the soldier wielding the thick torch as presenting the greatest amount of danger.

This was established due to the longer reach and simple effectiveness he gained by using the Maglight like a short stick or club.

The gaffing hook, while intimidating, was an impractical weapon for anything but hauling in a large fish. The wicked looking hook curved in a way that made it ideal for catching on flesh, this however meant that it was a difficult improvised weapon to land a damaging strike with.

Lastly, the unarmed man, while largely built, scored last because he was without the force multiplier of a weapon.

Li's charge brought her inside of the arch of the already swinging torch. She brought a hand up to the side of her head, forming a sturdy triangle of arm to block the impact of her opponents bicep.

Sure, the slap from the muscle stung and made her grit her teeth; it was a hell of a lot better then wearing the torch instead.

Inside her opponent's guard, Li buried her face deep into his thick chest and dropped her hands down to overhook his tight biceps. In doing so, she had effectively protected herself from any incoming punches or hits. More importantly she was also inside the swing radius of the torch, making it very difficult to hit her with an effective blow.

From the safety of her clinch, Li then immediately stepped around to the rear of her opponent's closest leg with her own left leg. This brought her body around perpendicular to his and closed her hips in to straddle the sailor's leg. Her head didn't move off his body at all during the whole transition and her left hand followed suit, sliding around to brace against the spine.

Li's new position left her to one side of the man so he now stood between her and the other two menacing men.

In a blur of speed, her left hand pounced the length of his back and roughly snapped across the pug-like face to grip the chin from the side. With minimal effort and a well practiced reap, Li then yanked the hand across the midline of the body, dragging the hapless man's jaw sideways as if to look over his own shoulder. The hyper-rotation of the head off its natural axis caused huge amounts of contortion to the cervical spine and the body responded in defence by sacrificing balance in favour of continued life. Given a chance, mayhaps he could have stepped back to regain his footing, but Li refused to allow him the opportunity.

Li took full advantage of the neck crank and stepped back as the sailor's centre of gravity was torn back past his hips. She increased the spiralling tension with her hand at the same time as her stepping leg traced a small circle behind the other, generating circular momentum. The opening in space between them, created by her movement allowed her a hole to drop her opponent into.

With a calamitous rush, Li's tortioning hand was assisted by her other hand on the bicep to slam the astonished man into the cold, hard deck.

His body crashed to the ground at a right angle to Li, effectively maintaining the barrier against his closing friends. His spare arm recoiled up on impact flailing wildly, while the torch hand remained firmly anchored in the grip of the seasoned fighter.

* * *

><p>Not quite finished with her opponent yet, Li ended the fight in the most sharp and brutal of manners.<p>

She dropped her weight downwards through one knee to base herself. Rather then contacting the ground however she chose the sailors liver as a platform. Pain arched through the prone figure from the crushing pressure on his organ and it momentarily distracted him for what happened next.

Li fully extended his weapon arm with a sharp tug before rotating it slightly.

Then with a surprising suddenness, Li violently cranked the straightened limb, with the point of the elbow facing into her leg, as hard as she could back across her shin. She fought through a fleeting moment of reflexive muscular resistance before the leverage and hyperextension overcame the joint.

Years of training and mental conditioning came together in a deadly agglomeration to let her push through altruistic instincts and do what had to be done without hesitation.

Li increased her force and decisively broke the stricken man's arm, with a gruesome snap that was audible to all present.

Distant shouts from the other searching sailors were silenced by the raw throated scream that split the early morning air.

Li took no joy from hearing the man's pain personified. She was however, secretly satisfied with the elastic release of his arm that signified a successful execution of the technique.

Her stomach knotted momentarily as the ruined arm kept swinging past its natural range of motion, in a feat that was only attainable in its terribly damaged state. Screams increased in pitch from the crippled sailors uttering lips as the useless limb carved its trajectory.

An unnatural lump bulged from the tightening arm where the fractured bone ends pushed out against the skin.

Hardening her gaze, Li looked up from the wounded man as she took the torch from his limp grip. Her cold stare dared the remaining two sailors to make a move against her. The dark gleam to her hazel orbs serving as a warning and a threat of what could follow should either man be so foolish.

By hesitating in the face of their own destruction, the lucky survivors managed to buy enough time for their backup to arrive. Half a dozen new combatants entered play and the new group collectively worked up the balls to advance.

While there was a lot to be said for skill and experience, unfortunately for Li they held little ground against overwhelming numbers. As more crew were attracted by their ailing colleagues cries, she sighed in sad resignation of her fate.

An increasing number of lights illuminated the young martial artists face and she stood up from her crouched position over her prey. Ignoring the screaming man at her feet with the rapidly swelling arm, she let the torch slip loosely from her fingers. Li fixed her face in a neutral grimace, in hatred of what was coming next.

Embraced by the unique shame of defeat, she slowly raised her open palms above her head in the international sign of surrender. Her last thoughts lingered on her failed objective and the friends she wished were standing beside her.

* * *

><p>Over a thousand kilometres away in the blistering afternoon heat, traffic stalled to a halt under the Australian sun. Cars, trucks and vans of all sizes and makes slowed to pull over as the terrible piercing cry reached them and warning lights flashed. It was a foreboding noise for many, letting them know that somewhere, something was wrong.<p>

A reminder of the fragility of all things and the constant dangers that loomed.

For the young man in the passenger seat it had a different meaning altogether. For Paulo it was a noise of excitement, of mystery and purpose. To him it hastened his heart as he cruised to a job, each one so different from the last, presenting a different problem and challenge for his growing skills. The siren of his ambulance as it sliced through the Queensland traffic was straight up music to his ears.

Having only started his internship eighteen months ago, Paulo was one of the sharpest budding paramedics in the district. A hit with the patients and female staff alike due to his laid back attitude, easy charm and Latin good looks. Looks alone had not gotten him the respect of his peers though and he had quickly become renown as a dead calm operator under even the greatest stress.

Despite his short time in the role, the mixture of excitement and periods of flexible downtime held great appeal with the Argentinean.

So it was with his trademark cowboy grin that he hurtled towards, what was hopefully his crew's last job for the day. It had been a long hot day for the team and they were looking forward to the end of shift. Paulo would have been content whittling away the final hour trawling though facebook or pouring over an emergency medical textbook. As it was though the pager started buzzing, the tones sounded in the garage and the team of three were bumped from the relative comfort of the ambulance station.

Looking across at his mentor, Grant who was driving, Paulo could see the first signs of fatigue showing through on his glistening face. The older man brushed back his short-cropped black hair with a spare hand as he weaved through the traffic. The air-conditioner blew at full bore, trying ineffectively to cool the experienced Paramedic. Droplets of sweat sprayed with the movement of his hair, a testament to the heat in Port Douglas. His cunning, thin face was drawn in concentration as he navigated the powerful truck with an expert's hand.

Paulo turned his attention away from his mentors greying temples to watch the road so he could try and pick up more of his mentors high speed driving technique.

"Hey what are we heading to Paulo?" A feminine voice with a heavy Australian tang enquired from the back of the ambulance.

* * *

><p>The Argentinean shrugged his shoulder from the seatbelt and turned in his seat to look back through the narrow passage that divided the cab of the ambulance from the treatment area.<p>

In the back of the truck a slim, attractive brunette was mirroring this stance as she leaned around the corner of her chair to look at him in the front. With an extreme tan that could only come from a costal hotspot, she sat in the 'dicky chair'; a backwards facing seat in the rear of the ambulance that was positioned at the head of the stretcher. The configuration was designed to allow paramedics easy access for maintaining a patients airway, but more often then not it was used as a third passenger seat when a crew was manned with three staff.

Paulo flashed his charming cowboy grin at the pretty young paramedic before answering, accentuating his Latin accent for greater effect.

"Pager says breathing difficulties; query Anaphylaxis, _Senorita._" He answered casually, cocking an eyebrow jauntily.

He felt pretty cool using the word Anaphylaxis, which was the medical term for a multi-systemic allergic reaction.

"Cool." Sarah giggled at the antics of the audacious student paramedic and sunk back into her seat to face the rear again.

Back in the front, Paulo too turned around to see his wizened mentor shaking his head in exasperation. Grant rolled his eyes affectionately as he pulled the vehicle out onto a clear stretch of road.

While an intuitive and gifted young medic, his protégé was quickly earning a reputation as a bit of a heartthrob among his female offsiders and the ED nurses. Sarah especially had taken a keen for the young man, having been a student herself until only six months ago. Despite his flirting mannerisms however, he was also known in the ambulance circles to be a perfect gentleman and hadn't, to anyone's knowledge actually followed through on his behaviour with any of the staff.

Grant figured it was just part of his apprentices personality, a double-sided sword as it turned out in some cases. It provided the rest of the crew with endless amusement, the number of old ladies who became smitten with their handsome young paramedic, especially after a few milligrams of pain relief.

"Anaphylaxis huh? Well you might get to finally give some adrenaline this block after all Paulo." His mentor mused, bringing his thoughts back to the present as they entered the suburbs.

"Yeah maybe, I guess we'll see how sick they are." Paulo agreed, shrinking his grin and trying to hide his excitement at the prospect. Secretly he had been calculating the same conclusion given his guidelines for dealing with severe allergic reactions.

Inexplicably feeling in a good mood, he suddenly remembering the promise he had received from his mentor last week. Paulo shone his cowboy grin back at the older man and decided to remind him.

"So Grant, you said I might be able to drive the ambulance back from the hospital sometime this week?" He hinted innocently.

"Yeah yeah, I remember Hotshot. Lets just see how you handle this job first alright?" The seasoned veteran answered him, feigning weariness at his student's undying enthusiasm to drive.

Distracted by movement on the road he frowned and pointed to his mirror.

"Look at this Paulo, do you see the white Rodeo? It's been right on our tail for the last ten minutes." Grant growled, "The hell is this guys problem? He must be doing at least 70 to keep up."

Paulo too frowned at the anomaly. "Maybe he wants to get past?" He suggested, unconvinced.

"Well he is free to go now," Grant announced as he pulled the ambulance over in front of the address they had been given.

Paulo nodded in affirmative, still unconvinced and pulled on a pair of large, nitrile grey gloves, as his mentor backed their vehicle into the address. He snatched a small handheld radio from beside his headrest before pushing the door open with a boot and stepping down from the raised cab. The monstrous heat hit him in a blast, as his boots touched down and he couldn't help but draw parallel to his time in the Sahara or Egypt.

The vehicles air-conditioning was already sorely missed.

* * *

><p>Paulo cut a mean figure standing by the truck in his dark blue ambulance officer's uniform, taking a moment to adjust his eyes to the sunlight again after tipping his Bolle sunglasses onto his head. His natural props physique had trimmed down somewhat over the last six months as the heat and an increased cardio session in his training program had cut away a lot of his excess body fat.<p>

Not a great runner by default, he had deferred to cycling and swimming as his main forms of aerobic exercise. In his days off from the road, he would break up his study with lingering scenic rides around the beautiful surrounding country. The countryside, so rich in diversity reminded him so much of Argentina and the more laid back activity of pedalling suited his demeanour perfectly.

Walking around to the rear of his truck he found that Sarah already had the steps dropped down and was busy unfastening equipment. He met her offered trauma pack and oxygen cylinder with a thankful smile before turning to enter the house with her in tow. Grant followed the young pair from a distance, ready to lend an experienced hand should they need it.

Paulo knocked firmly on the screen door, almost demolishing the flimsy chequered obstruction in his enthusiasm.

"Ambulance!" He yelled clearly into the house before brushing aside the rickety screen and entering the house

A panicked looking mother, who practically dragged Paulo into the kitchen straight away, met him in the hallway.

"Please help my daughter, she's allergic to bees and has just been stung!" she begged the crew as she brought them through to find her flushed teenager hunched over in a chair struggling to breathe. The light orange hair, which she obviously inherited from her mother was mussed and stuck to her drenched face. Her skinny shoulders rose and fell with each rapid breath.

"We'll do everything we can Ma'am." Grant assured the mother as his crew descended on the girl. He paused for a moment watching the two young medics working, until he saw they had it covered and left the house to update the ambulance dispatch.

Paulo took a knee beside the oxygen hungry girl and started to assess her, he could already hear the telltale clunk as Grant removed the stretcher from the ambulance. On his right, Sarah was already preparing an oxygen mask and drugs to be nebulised by it.

"Hi there, I'm Paulo and this is Sarah. What's your name?" He asked in his most gentle reassuring voice.

With audible stridor she replied.

"Amy," She wheezed in a single breath, the loss of which seemed to tax her beyond measure as she fought to get air into her lungs.

_Not a good sign_, Paulo noted with unease and he decided to get out the drug roll.

"We've got some medicine here for you honey." Sarah explained as she placed a nebuliser mask over the girl's bright red face.

Amy just nodded in reply, her eyelids heavy with exhaustion. Tired from the effort of just staying alive. The aerolised medicine entered her body with each ragged breath, helping to reduce swelling and spasm in her airways.

Paulo's dexterous fingers skimmed across the drug roll as he grabbed a syringe, a needle, a glass ampoule of Adrenaline and some saline to dilute the drug with. Sarah reached right past him where he knelt, her arm brushing his thigh, as she double-checked his drug before passing it back to him with a nod.

"This injection is going to make you feel like hell Amy, but it should help your breathing."

Paulo warned her, with his drawn up drug suspended inches from her exposed thigh.

She nodded weakly a second time at his words, just a slight rock of her head to indicate she had heard him.

Paulo didn't wait around and stabbed the needle deep into the fleshy muscle of her thigh. He drew back slightly on the plunger to make sure he wasn't in a blood vessel before delivering the full payload of Adrenaline intramuscularly.

The powerful drug worked to combat the two biggest killers in Anaphylaxsis; airway swelling and vasodilation. The triggering of smooth muscle contration in the airways and bloodvessels made it easier for patients to breath and helped maintain their perfusion.

Sarah was waiting with a bright yellow container for the used needle, to which he gladly used. Paulo looked up from the end of his procedure just in time to see Grant return with the stretcher.

* * *

><p>Between the three of them they manhandled the now floppy and inattentive teenager onto their lowered stretcher. Paulo pushed up the side rail and belted her in before returning to the tail end of the narrow bed. With a nod to his mentor, the two squeezed levers on the handles of the stretcher to raise the bed up with a series of clicks.<p>

Sarah pulled one last sweep of the house and led Amy's mother out to the passenger seat of the ambulance after the wheeled bed.

Paulo took charge of the bed as they reached the ambulance and he loaded the dropleg into the vehicle with practiced ease, before climbing up the steps after it. Always the gentleman, he extended a hand to help the female paramedic into the back before returning to the patient. She pulled shut the rear doors behind with a slam and Grant carefully pulled the vehicle out of the driveway.

Paulo silently thanked his friends from Alpha Force for having taught him how to be part of an effective team, while he and Sarah hooked their patient up to the monitoring equipment. Working together seamlessly, their arms dancing past each other to attach pulse oximetry, the automatic blood pressure cuff and the three lead ECG. By this stage Amy was no longer opening her eyes when Paulo talked to her and he had to constantly keep an eye on her breathing.

His mind rolled and twisted in turmoil as he considered the sick patient in front of him and the treatment options available to him.

_She's crashing,_ he reminded himself, looking at the sickly teen.

"Sarah prep me a bag of fluid, we need to run an adrenaline infusion." He decided, raising his voice to be heard over the din of the moving vehicle.

The young female nodded her agreement and got to work while Paulo cannulated.

Paulo's hands were consumed by tremors as he got his equipment together and edged his cannula to line up with the vein he had selected. His finger pushed forward, sending the stilette to penetrate the vein. The flashback of blood into the plastic chamber elicited a sigh of relief from the young man and he smoothly slid the Teflon catheter into the vein. He was just finishing taping the line and leur in place when it happened.

His peripheral vision noticed the absence of movement.

The girl had just stopped breathing.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N- **My bad, it has been a while. Been rather busy and struggling to find time to transcribe chapters from my notes. The story is done, it is the uploading that is taking a while sorry.

**-Grey.**

* * *

><p>"Dios maldito!" Paulo cursed harshly at the still chest of his patient.<p>

"She's stopped breathing." He warned Sarah urgently, though keeping his calm as he wrenched open the locker directly above the patient's head.

He withdrew an odd-looking rubber bulb. On one end it had a round plastic reservoir bag, on the other end it tapered off to a right angle and a filter. Connected to the circular filter was a soft face-conforming rubber mask. From the bags end he caught hold of the length of Oxygen tubing and connected it up to the ambulances bulk supply.

Sarah slunk past Paulo wordlessly to pick up the bag-mask, she started to breathe for the patient as the reservoir bag expanded with oxygen. With strong fingers, she pulled the unconscious girl's face into the masked and gently squeezed the bag. Amy's chest rose slightly with the inflation before falling, as her body reciprocally exhaled.

While Sarah was managing the breathing, Paulo was finding a basic airway adjunct to insert.

He selected an oropharyngeal airway; a solid piece of curved plastic that went in the patient's mouth and reached to the start of their throat. The simple airway device ensured that the unconscious patient's tongue could not flaccidly slide back and occlude their airway.

Combined with good positioning, it meant that the passages of breathing were kept open in the presence of the unconscious relaxed muscle.

Paulo sized the device up against her face and settled on a green airway to be a good fit. He then inserted it in-between breathes with a deft rotation of the plastic once it was in Amy's mouth.

The airway in place Sarah went back to ventilating and Paulo returned to concocting his adrenaline infusion.

Paulo breathed a sigh; he had done everything he could.

* * *

><p>Thirty minutes later, Paulo dejectedly walked out of the ambulance entrance of the emergency department. His completed paperwork hung loosely under his arm as he slowly approached his ambulance with unfocussed eyes.<p>

It all happened so fast, he reflected glumly, remembering the girl who went from talking, to unconscious and finally, to not breathing. His interventions did seemingly nothing to help and as the crew wheeled the dying girl into the emergency department she finally went into cardiac arrest.

The hospital staff took over from the weary crew, sliding the girl onto their bed and starting CPR. Sadly no amount of CPR, drugs or electricity were enough to save the girl.

Paulo was forced to watch as the doctor declared her dead.

Conflicted and ashamed, Paulo had stood in silence, finishing his documentation as his crew removed their stretcher and other equipment.

Snapping back to the present, he found his slow path back to the ambulance blocked by his mentor.

"Are you alright Paulo?" He asked, with concern written across his features upon seeing his unnaturally silent student.

"Uh yeah sure, I guess." The young man answered uncertainly, sticking to the stoic male expectation of strength. Internally, he was not feeling so strong and his mind dwelled on the unpleasant job.

"A bit confused maybe," he finally admitted, having completely reviewed the case in his head.

"You can't understand why she died?" Grant questioned, wisely having sensed the cause of Paulo's conflict.

Paulo nodded in the affirmative, wincing at the harshness of the thought in its verbalised state.

He felt something catch in his throat and was compelled to ask his mentor the million-dollar question.

"What did I do wrong?" He miserably muttered, reluctantly meeting the senior paramedics gaze.

To his surprise the older man forced a smile, the friendly expression betrayed by the sad truth held in his eyes. He clapped a hand on Paulo's shoulder in comradeship and gently led him away from the ambulances.

Sarah leaned against the front of their truck, knowing the exact headspace that Paulo was in, having been there herself in the past. All of them had.

Luckily for Paulo, he had someone like Grant to help talk him down from it.

The pair stood by the wall of the ambulance bay and Grant softly answered him.

"You did everything right today. Your treatment was spot on, right by the book."

Paulo thawed a little from the praise, his sad face lifting like a flower to the sun.

"But sometimes that isn't enough." Grant admitted grimly.

"The lesson here," He confided in the lad, "Is that a lot of the time people will die despite of what we do."

Paulo nodded again in recognition of this sombre revelation.

"The hard part Paulo, is not getting hung up on it when it does happen." His mentor lectured him softly.

"Ain't that the truth," Paulo muttered sullenly, but life was slowly returning to his face.

"Thanks Grant," he said as his mentor chuckled and started back towards the truck.

Paulo turned and saw Sarah smile at him supportively. He returned the expression, glad for her patience and understanding.

The happy expression was quickly wiped from his face though as she raised one hand to wave the keys playfully. Paulo was about twenty metres from the vehicle but he burst into a sprint as he desperately tried to beat her to the cab.

Grant rolled his eyes affectionately at the immature pair as they raced to see who got to drive.

Sarah's head start was definitive though and she spritely sprung into the drivers seat with only a couple of steps. Looking up smarmily she smiled to the boy who had just broken into a sprint, as she moved to seal her position as driver by starting the vehicle.

The ambulance instantaneously exploded in a gigantic ball of fire.

* * *

><p>The destructive shockwave blasted Paulo clear off his feet and threw him back into the concrete wall of the ambulance bay. A terrible wave of incendiary heat scorched his face and shielding arms, despite the distance he was now huddled at. Shards of metal, glass and burning plastic sprayed past him at immense speed. They peppered the walls noisily and stung into his exposed front.<p>

Blood pounded in his ears and ran freely from the multiple injuries on his body.

In his daze Paulo felt before he heard, a succession of secondary and tertiary explosions detonating nearby. The concrete trembled with each new explosion and was followed by a further downpour of deadly fast debris.

A small, detached part of his mind that hadn't just weathered an explosion realised it was probably the oxygen cylinders in the ambulance igniting.

Bells dominated his hearing and the world had a quilt over it, muffling all noise. His body ached in too many places for him to keep track of and it was an effort just staying awake.

As the explosions grew more distant, he braved this pain to peel open his eyes a crack. Through the stinging and tears he looked back to see the whole ambulance bay awash with a choking black smoke. Barely visible through the thick cloud was the row of ambulances, ignited by the first detonation in a chained reaction and burning feverishly.

Spot fires burnt everywhere from spilt gasoline; the once neutral, clean parking area now truly looked like hell on earth.

His blurry vision focussed particularly on the flaming and charred cab of his own ambulance. There was nothing recognisable of the driver or, indeed the seat she had sat in.

_Sarah!_

Grief crushed in on Paulo casting a vignette on his vision. The prone unmoving figure of his mentor was silhouetted against the flames.

_Grant!_

Paulo allowed the darkness to encroach further in response to the two acute losses.

All his senses seemed in revolt.

Smoke and the sour reek of burnt flesh choked his nose. His face and arms stung, pain throbbing with each rapid heartbeat. Paulo's head thumped to the same rhythm and threatened to overwhelm all thought.

His burning eyelids began to slump closed, the last image they captured was a white pickup truck pushing between the wreckage. His muted ears barely made out the hubbub of the powerful vehicle. Muffled voices tried to find his ears as rough hands lifted him from the ground.

Unable to hold onto his essence any longer, the unrelenting creep of unconsciousness overpowered Paulo.

* * *

><p>Li's gaze fell around her makeshift cell in the brig of the decrepit ship.<p>

The smell of blood, suffering and death lingered on the walls. She was surrounded by bland, cold metal except for the sliver of light directly in front of her that was the door in its frame. Short stacks of boxes were piled either side of her making it apparent that her housing usually doubled over as a storeroom.

For what seemed like the thousandth time she flexed at the bonds on her wrists and ankles, anything to take her mind off the disgrace of defeat and capture.

She sighed despondently at what she knew to be tight ropes and solid knots. Given the damage she had inflicted above deck, the Japanese Walers had decided not to take any chances.

From the humiliation of failure she could draw just one success.

The ship she was imprisoned on had decided to break course and return to Japan, there she was to stand trial for her perceived crimes.

Li smiled weakly to herself.

_Mission accomplished, sort of…_

* * *

><p>Upon joining Greenpeace 12 months ago, Li had hoped to save the world in a different way for once.<p>

From her time with Alpha Force Li had learnt several hard lessons. Firstly that life was cheap, a temporary state prone to an abrupt ending at the whim of those less caring. Because of this man was selfish, a flawed being focused only on the short term, on the time they would spend on the planet.

Having seen human nature at its rawest Li had recoiled and stepped back a greater distance. What she had seen in others and in herself had frightened the brave young woman and forced her to re-evaluate her priorities.

Now her focus had fallen less on the people of the world and more on preserving something greater; the living environment. An environment that was so quickly exploited and then abandoned when its rehabilitation became difficult.

She had started off with Greenpeace in a purely administrative role, before getting heavily into the protesting and awareness side of things.

In one particular demonstration against an Australian uranium mine things had gotten a bit out of hand. The mines private security contractors had confronted the tight knit group of demonstrators. As the hired thugs started to up the ante and get physical, it became clear to Li's superiors that she was a bit more capable then her fellow protestors.

Wearing her bruises like badges of honour and still carrying an acquired riot baton, she was approached by the higher echelons to help out with some of the more extreme eco protesting work they secretly undertook.

The kind of work that required a little more stealth and finesse. The kind that was not strictly legal.

With her inherited passionate love of biology, she had dived headfirst into the role and quickly proved herself far more capable then her untrained colleagues. Her reputation spread among the organization as the Green Ghost; a stealthy eco-warrior who wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty.

Her covert work and industrial sabotage of the dirty corporations worldwide soon became the stuff of Greenpeace folklore, as they utilised their highly trained asset to expand operations.

It was for this reason that Li had ended up in the green capital of the world; New Zealand. Here she boarded the Greenpeace ship the Steve Irwin, bound for the Atlantic and the infamous Japanese whaling fleet.

After several months at sea, the war of flour bombs versus water cannons was ending badly for the environmentalists and the slaughter of whales continued mercilessly. It was decided that something more aggressive was required to get results to stop the whale factory ship.

Li had of course instantly volunteered, willing to do almost anything to stop the relentless hunting of the oceans gentle giants.

* * *

><p>Now Li sat back with the mild satisfaction of knowing she had saved countless whales lives by diverting the ship.<p>

This satisfaction was dwarfed though by her apprehension as her floating prison drew closer to Japan.

Li had never felt more alone in the world and not for the first time, wished her friends from Alpha Force had accepted work with Greenpeace also.

The length of time between seeing her friends seemed to grow after each mission as the remaining friends became steadily more busy as they each grew to help others in their own ways. Even when they did meet up there was always a strain, the ghost of the missing member seemed to haunt their movement and hollow their company.

Without Alex, Alpha Force just didn't quite seem right.

Li sighed again, wondering for the hundredth time about her British friend and the sad look he wore, the day he left.

Where he was or whether he was even still alive none of them knew.

Returning to her own problems Li's room seemed to darken.

Japan grew closer with each minute and with it her trial.

On charges of assault, attempted sabotage and unlawfully boarding a vessel she could expect a stern trial from an unforgiving Japanese public.


	6. Chapter 6

Paulo squirmed uncomfortably at the heat of the flames burning against his face. His arms thrummed from the fire and his ears heard nothing. His eyelids felt like steel shutters slammed over his vision refusing to allow him sight.

In a raspy whisper he blindly called out to his mentor, trying to rouse the man from his still position on the concrete. With no reply he tried again, a different lament one with less hope to it; "Sarah," the unlucky girl who had inadvertently triggered the explosion.

The silence bore down on him more hurtful then the burns and bruises.

_Am I deaf? _Paulo considered in horror remembering the calamitous explosion.

The memory alone was enough to trigger another ripple of pain through his body. He raised his scorched arms in defence of his burning face and he felt them catch painfully in the sheets.

_Sheets?_

Paulo pushed open his swollen eyes and sat bolt upright. The accompanying wave of dizziness almost lay him straight back down again, but he endured. Disorientated he realised he was definitely no longer in the ambulance bay amid burning vehicles and growing death.

Looking down he noticed he was in just his boxers and was sitting in a pale bed.

Paulo's first thought was home, then the hospital, before he finally recognised the room as belonging to neither. The bland colouring and decoration indicated a hotel room and not an expensive one either

Paulo fought his way out of the sweat stained sheets, suddenly remembering the white Rodeo that arrived as he was passing out.

The same white Holden Rodeo that had been following his ambulance.

A shiver shot down Paulo's battered spine at the possibility of danger.

He stood as carefully as could, determined to face danger on his feet. The aches and pains this action caused were nothing in comparison to the headrush it triggered.

In the surge of light-headedness, images and memories flashed in his eyes.

The explosion. Amy. Grant. Sarah. _Dead_.

Overwhelmed by the catastrophic day, Paulo staggered back, missing the bed and slumping to sit on the floor in front of it. His face sunk into his hands, hoping that if he held onto his head maybe it would clear. A splitting headache seemed to accompany the images and cloud his thoughts.

He sat like that for a length of time he had no way of measuring.

_Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Days? _His reeling mind considered

When his consciousness finally collected, he felt as weak as a kitten, fragile and delicate like his skin was make of tissue paper.

A newfound outrage over his dead friends gave him the strength to slowly stand.

His headache bit back harder then ever but he pushed through it.

With slow eyes he scanned the room carefully, trying to identify anything he could use as a weapon, but nothing jumped out at him.

In bitter resignation he focused on the door and made it his goal to get there.

Paulo buried a grimace with each painful step as he made his way towards the door to his room. His tender hands quietly tested the doorknob and to his unnerving surprise, he found it was unlocked.

With infinite caution he warily pushed open the door and was rendered speechless by what he saw.

* * *

><p>The bedroom opened out onto a small living area, a couch, dining table and a TV. The usual.<p>

What held Paulo's amazement was the occupants of the room.

Directly opposite him and seated at the small table was an exhausted looking Hex. The irrepressible palmtop was out on the surface in front of him and the young man worked away without looking up.

The dark skinned girl who had been watching TV on the couch was far more aware.

"Paulo," She cried, turning off 'Gossip Girl' and bounding from the worn brown squabs.

"Amber? Hex?" Paulo questioned in disbelief, as she quickly approached him.

Hex looked up and Paulo was able to confirm that it indeed was his old friend, albeit a strained, older looking version then he remembered. The black arm brace that supported his arm drew Paulo's gaze. Hex pushed out his chair from the table to follow Amber's lead.

Amber closed in on Paulo, her arms open wide to collect him; the joy at seeing her injured friend awake and about was evident.

To everyone's surprise, Paulo roughly fended her arms to a side, spurning the embrace.

"What the hell you guys?" Paulo croaked through a raw throat breathing hard with emotion. They were the last people on earth he expected to see and the impulse to welcome them had been overridden by the nature of their reunion.

"Paulo you were in danger, we had to come to the rescue." Amber explained, looking hurt from her stumbled position against the back of the couch.

For the first time, the Argentinean looked down at himself and noticed the thick coating of gauze that covered his bare chest and abdomen. Blood had soaked through the bandages in places and concealed the multitude of stinging wounds. He touched a hand to his head and felt the coarse texture of the crepe bandage, securing his forehead.

Paulo's mind still fought to accept his two close friends as his abductors, turned rescuers. The headache didn't help.

He struggled to comprehend how they could abduct him from a scene like that when it was obvious that there were people hurt that may have needed his help.

People like Sarah or Grant.

In Paulo's pause, Hex had found his feet and was almost upon him. The confusion and conflict over whether or not to engage his best friend stunted him from moving any closer.

"Paulo," He growled in warning, reaching a compromise in behaviour and settling into a defensive stand point, protectively in front of Amber.

"So you just left my mentor and partner to die?" Paulo demanded angrily, his fists balling with emotion.

Hex raised his palms to the upset man, trying to deescalate the situation.

"Paulo it was too dangerous," he reasoned with his friend, "We couldn't wait around, the place was in chaos and the bomber was free to try finish the job."

"Bomber?" Paulo asked in confusion, latching onto the new word.

"You know the guy who planted the car-bomb in your ambulance, the guy who tried to kill you?" Amber explained crassly, with her trademarked impatience. Being pushed had not done much for her sympathy.

"Someone was trying to kill me? Why?" An incredulous Paulo cried in complete amazement. His brief flash of anger was quickly overwhelmed by a surge of guilt as he realised the collateral damage involved in the attempt on his life. The explosion was deliberate, an indiscrimate weapon utilised to kill without caring.

_All because of me,_ he reflected, thinking back to the massive detonation and the resulting destruction. _How many lives were ruined?_

"If you actually answered your damn phone we could have warned you that you were in danger." Amber reprimanded him with an accusing finger.

Paulo's guilt doubled as his thoughts were directed to his phone, which he had left off sitting at the bottom of his bag in the ambulance. He had started leaving it off on shifts after some stern words from his mentor regarding the number of calls and texts he received in the average day. It was always a bad look having your phone start ringing in your pocket while you were looking after a patient.

Still with much to think about, Paulo decided to table his guilty thoughts in favour of dealing with the immediate future.

With an apologetic grin he offered on large hand to Amber.

She understandingly accepted and allowed him to help her up, into a hug.

"Thank you and I'm sorry." He whispered through misting eyes as he pulled Hex in too.

"We're really sorry about your friends." Amber replied softly in return, rubbing Paulo's back and pretending not to see his eyes for the sake of his pride.

* * *

><p>With the greetings and apologies out of the way, Hex and Amber proceeded in telling Paulo their story.<p>

"So then Amber withdrew as much cash as she could and we hopped the first flight here." Hex explained simply.

"We tried calling and emailing but you never answered, so me and Hex rented the truck and followed ambulances until we found you." Amber described to Paulo as she dabbed fresh disinfectant on his now exposed wounds.

Luckily for Paulo his injuries were limited to burns, a concussion and a decent peppering of debris. The personal displacement he experienced from the initial shockwave of overpressure had actually been his saving grace, since it had propelled him further from the explosion before the shrapnel followed.

Hex winced at the sight of them, knowing how much the ministrations hurt, having received the almost exact same injury to his back in Egypt.

"Lucky you found me when you did." Paulo replied through gritted teeth. His head was still buzzing with the death of Grant and Sarah. A pain that far outweighed the sting of Iodine.

Hex as usual, was tapping away on his palmtop.

"No luck on your bomber." He declared, having finished browsing through all the video footage of the time leading up to the incident.

"Whoever he was, he was smart enough to avoid the cameras around the ambulance bay."

Paulo scowled uncharacteristically, knowing that his would-be assassin eluded them for the time being.

"So what do we do now? What's the plan?" He asked the couple seriously.

"Isn't it obvious?" Amber replied contemptuously, "We meet up with Li and find Alex, they may well be in danger too."

Paulo nodded his approval of the plan, glad that they were going to regroup before they started looking for the aggravators. In his head it sat as the best course of action, while fallible as indivuals, as a group they were almost unstoppable.

"Li," he reminisced wistfully, trying to remember when he had seen her last. The whole group had been so busy lately with their new lives.

"Last month when she visited Li said she was off to New Zealand for something." Paulo revealed after a moment. He couldn't remember exactly what she was there for though.

Amber confirmed the story looking thoughtful. "That's right but I can't remember what it was she was going to do either." She admitted guiltily.

To both their surprise, Hex butted into the conversation.

"It wasn't anti-whaling work was it?" He suggested eyes still fixed to the small screen in front of him.

"Yeah." Amber and Paulo said together in excitement. As usual, Amber relied on her boyfriends superior memory when it came to things like events, numbers and passwords among other things.

"Well you'd better see this then," Hex recommended ominously and turned his palmtop so they could all see.

Onscreen a video began to play it was streamed directly from one of the international media websites. The opening shot was a high pan over a whaling vessel as it dragged in a Humpback whale.

A clipped female voice started to give a commentary.

"Whaling; an issue that divides the Pacific, a focal point of ecological crusaders campaigns. But how far will organisations like Greenpeace go to prevent the killing of these endangered mammals?"

The screen cut to footage of protest boats, pulled up beside a whaling boat, being sprayed with water hoses from the vessel.

"Japanese whalers off the North Atlantic say they have finally gone too far this time. On the morning of the 7th, the crew of the Kanni Basami whaling vessel apprehended a known Greenpeace activist who had boarded their ship. Her purpose onboard is still unclear at this stage but the crew of the ship insist it was part of a sabotage attempt."

The picture switched to film of the older vessel leaving port in Japan.

"Greenpeace spokesman have confirmed that the captured British citizen is an active part of their organization but have refused to release her name to the media."

The trio exchanged a look.

The commentary finished with;

"Irregardless of this stance, the saboteurs identity will be revealed on Friday when the ship docks and she is brought to trial in Japan."

* * *

><p>A stunned silence followed the report and was finally broken by Hex.<p>

"Sound like anyone we know?" He asked his friends with a triumphant grin.

"If anybodies breaking onto a boat and causing a ruckus, it's our Li." Amber agreed with a touch of concern.

"And she is standing trial Friday? Well that means we have six days to get there." Paulo declared, confidently.

Amber and Hex shared an odd look before facing him again.

"Uh today's Monday Paulo, you were out for a whole day and a bit." Amber gently informed her friend, breaking the news to him as carefully as possible.

Paulo was a bit taken back by the revelation that he had lost almost two days and reflexively checked his watch. Sadly, although waterproof to 50m, his G-shock apparently wasn't made to withstand explosions.

"Oh, in that case we had better get moving." He announced with a renewed vigour, spurned on by the sudden loss of time.

Hex grinned wryly at his friend's indomitable positive attitude and went to pack their bags.

Borrowing some loose track pants and a too tight shirt from Hex, Paulo went to have a shower.

He sighed with relief upon spotting his reflection in the mirror and finding the burns to his face were superficial. It did mean that he looked like he had been really badly sunburnt though.

Paulo couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of this because he had never been properly sunburnt a day in his life due to his darker complexion.

He chuffed in approval at the dressings his friends had applied to his various wounds before painfully ripping them off for his shower. He discarded the used adhesive medical supplies (with a good deal of hair attached) into the bin. He would reapply fresh once he was clean. After examining various other bumps and bruises, the Argentinean was satisfied that he wasn't badly hurt and turned on the shower.

What started as a hot shower quickly became stone cold to relieve the pain in his face and arms. He stood in front of the frigid torrent for over half an hour, the cold water soothing his burns and caressing his aching body. A knock on the door abruptly ended his silence, soothing and contemplation.

"Come on Paulo, I don't want to know what's taking you so long in there. But hurry it up we're leaving soon." Amber tauntingly called through the door.

Paulo cracked a grin at her inference before snapping back at her.

"It would be quicker if you were in here to help me." He hollered cheekily, before shutting off the water with a deep laugh to himself.

The audacious Latino emerged 2 minutes later, fully dressed to an unimpressed Hex.

"Sorry what was that you said Paulo?" He encouraged his friend with an I-dare-you expression.

Caught on the spot, Paulo flicked over to his default setting and turned on his giant grin.

"I said about time Hex, lets go." He amended, with a pseudo-innocent look before shooting Amber a wink.

"It might work on Li or the nurses." She scorned him sardonically as she followed the two young men from the room.

* * *

><p>Over the last week of her journey, Li was not so lucky in her company or keeping. Locked inside the ship, she was given only meagre food and water. A shower was well out of the question. The thin blanket someone had scrounged served as her only protection for the night, when the temperatures dropped into the single digits.<p>

_At least they let me use the toilet_, she thought to herself gratefully, as she caught a whiff of herself.

_Boy, I smell_, she decided, not surprised considering the amount of sweating she did during the day in the hot ship.

Moodily she pushed over the sloppy stew they called her lunch. As a cruel joke, the crew made sure the only meal she received contained portions of her beloved whales. The oily, blubbery meals would have been disgusting even if her principles hadn't prevented her from eating it. By picking out the occasional sodden vegetable and allowing it to drain before eating, she was able to get some nutrition from the horrid broth.

The ship began to slow as they finally pulled into port and Li sighed to herself. It had been a hard few days but at least she could expect to be treated a bit better by the police as she waited for her hearing.

Keys jingled against the wall and metal rasped announcing the door to her room being opened. Two sailors entered to retrieve her. She noticed with a small cringe that one of the men was the one she had elbowed during her failed infiltration. He was in a pretty sorry state, sporting two swollen, black eyes and a badly broken nose.

_Probably not my biggest fan right now,_ Li thought to herself as the pair roughly dragged her up to her feet. With her arms still bound behind her and a short rope linking her ankles she was unable to get up without their help.

The grudging man with racoon eyes spoke a few words of Japanese to his partner, who in turn looked irritated but nodded. The sentence had been to quick for Li to catch but not as quick as the slap that followed it. She stumbled in their arms as the harsh backhand stung across her cheek. Outraged but not overly surprised, she defiantly found her balance and braced herself for the next blow.

Her earlier opponent wore a lopsided grin to accompany his chance for a little payback, he chambered the hand that had just struck her.

Li tensed her abdominal muscles in anticipation of the next blow and she blew her lungs empty as the punch came. Catching her square in the stomach, Li jolted up with the force of the hit. Her abdomen pulsed in pain but she avoided being winded by her deliberate exhalation before impact.

_Not the biggest advocate for prisoners rights either it would seem, _Li added bitterly and spat out a gob full of blood that had backed into her mouth from her now bleeding nose.

Noting with some satisfaction that she had landed her blood on her assailant's boots, Li straightened up and lifting her glare to find his.

"You got off lightly," She warned him in a low snarl.

Her attacker drew back for another hit but was halted by a word from the second guard. Instead they started moving her out of the room, her 'friend' made up for missing out on another free hit by wrenching on her arm painfully all the way to the exterior door.

With a rusty groan Li was suddenly brought forward into the noise and light of the outside world.

It was overwhelming for her, the bright sunlight and the chaos of noise that assaulted her upon her exit of the ship. The noise was readily supplied by the gaggle of preying news journalists gathered outside on the deck of the vessel.

Her still adjusting eyes were further blinded as the flash bulbs of multiple cameras erupted. They all tried, hungrily to capture a piece of the latest story to call their own.

Li brought her hands to cover her face, partly out of protection, mainly out of shame. The breeze was her only friend, collecting her silent tears as they fell and cooling her hot skin with its refreshing waves.

Her eyes brimming with sorrow were well hidden behind her hands as she was handed over to the Tokyo Police under the full scrutiny of the world.

Completely overwhelmed in both sense and emotion, Li compliantly ducked her head and climbed into the back of the police car.

Her interrogation and trial awaited.


	7. Chapter 7

"Did you see that?" Paulo practically yelled, pointing at the small TV in the small Tokyo hotel room and turning to his companions.

"It was definitely Li," Amber confirmed, having scrutinised the media coverage of the Asian girl being loaded into the police car. She turned back to the building plan spread on the table. It was adorned with small post-it notes, adding information to the otherwise plain architectural drawing.

The recent news article had reaffirmed the identity of the captive in their mind, having already received confirmation from Greenpeace. While the organization refused to release an identity to the media, they had no qualms about giving the information to who they thought was the captive's concerned sister.

Paulo's gaze lingered on the screen, watching with worry as the Li's walk of shame was replayed.

Hex was too busy in the bathroom to pay any attention to TV or conversation. He wrestled with his task in dogged perseverance, knowing that it was a critical detail in the success of their plan.

With a grunt of frustration he realised he hade made a mistake and would have to start again.

Sick of listening to him struggle and conscious of their time constraints, Amber rose from her seat to help him.

"Hex, I'm coming in before you strangle yourself," she announced and entered.

She found an aggravated Hex battling in vain with the emerald tie around his neck. With Amber's appearance he threw his arms up in defeat and surrendered to the experienced girl.

"I'd thought that you could do this by now." She taunted him, tutting with a shaking head like she was disappointed.

Hex grumbled something nonsensical above her head as she fixed the garment. Apart from the work itself and its location, the semi-casual dress code at DARPA had proved one of the main attractions for him.

Amber finished with his tie, straightened his lapels and stepped back to admire her man.

"How do I look?" Hex mumbled without much enthusiasm.

"Like a moody hacker who hates dressing up handsome." Amber judged with a sigh.

She knew that suits and getting all dressed up weren't really his style and she liked him in whatever he wore. But Amber still relished the rare occasions when she could convince him to suit up for her, usually when they had a dinner or function to attend.

As the finishing touch, she carefully placed a pair of square, narrow-brimmed glasses over his green eyes. The light disguise made Hex look at least five years older and gave him the air of intellectual or professional.

Paulo poked his head around the corner to give his opinion. Unfortunately for him it was at the exact moment that Amber decided to reinforce Hex's wearing of suits with a deep kiss.

Paulo stopped midstep at what always hit him as a shocking sight no matter how many times he saw it.

"Eaaagh." He commentated over the sloppy makeout.

"More like a sleazy, white businessman trying to pull some of the local Asian chicks."

"That would be your job." Amber shot back at him, cutting the pash short.

"Let's not be too hasty here," Hex murmured. "We'll see if there are any good looking, female cops at the station first." He added with a sly smile at Paulo.

Paulo returned his best friends grin and then some, as Amber slapped the hackers arm.

"You're a bad influence on him." She accused Paulo with no real venom. Hex nuzzled into her neck trying to regain favour he had just lost with his joke.

Paulo made a disgusted look again and Hex stopped

"Sorry," Paulo apologised, seeing the couple's reaction.

"Even after all this time I still find it weird, the two of you finally together and all." He admitted guiltily.

"I think I almost preferred the endless bickering and sexual tension instead." He added jokingly, throwing out his trademark grin one more.

"Jealous much?" Hex replied smarmily as he turned to face Amber again.

"Green is such an ugly colour on you Paulo." Amber added sardonically, closing her eyes and baring her lips for Hex in an exaggerated manner.

Paulo closed his eyes before the final terrifying moment.

"Yeah, whatever, can you two just keep it in your pants?" He pleaded, brushing aside their accusations with a wave of his hand.

Opening his eyes tentatively, Paulo was rewarded by the sight of his friends sniggering at him and not making out.

For a terrifying moment Paulo was forced to be the mature one.

The moment was fleeting

"If you lovebirds are done, can we hurry up and rescue Li now?" Paulo asked in exasperation as he ushered them out of the room.

As they were moving out the door, Amber quickly reached across and gave Hex's arse a firm squeeze. It was followed up by a giggle from the pair and a sigh from Paulo. After what he had just said, Amber of course felt obliged to further aggravate him.

* * *

><p>The Tokyo police station was a modern, Spartan example of a law enforcement headquarters. Cameras peered from out of the wall at regular intervals, ensuring full video coverage.<p>

Li had glanced up at these glass eyes in despair, as she was marched down the main hallway towards the holding cells. There she was thoroughly searched by a young female police officer and relieved of all items on her person. Finally her handcuffs were opened and she was ushered into her cell.

Under pressure from both the Japanese and New Zealand government, her identity had been disclosed and was now public knowledge. The only advantage of this was that it saved her the lengthy identity processing and gave her more time alone in her cell.

She was not alone for long though.

It seemed like she had only been waiting five minutes when her guard returned.

"You have visitor." She announced, before reapplying Li's handcuffs and leading her from the cells.

Slightly confused as to who was visiting her, Li silently obeyed.

She was led to an interrogation room, where she found a shorthaired Japanese man waiting for her. He looked every part the businessman, in a full formal suit and a short black briefcase beside him. Patiently the man waited silently, sitting in a chair at the small table, the sole occupant of the room. There was something about him that didn't sit right with Li.

The policewoman sat Li in the seat opposite the businessman and then left the room.

_That's odd, _Li thought to herself as the woman walked out.

_No guard…._

Li turned her gaze back to the man opposite her.

"Who are you?" She enquired after a few moments of them sitting in silence.

* * *

><p>He spoke in flawless English without a trace of an accent.<p>

"It does not matter who I am, only who you are Liang Chiang."

"What do you want from me?" Li probed suspiciously.

"Lets just say that you and your friends are of particular interest to my employer." He answered mysteriously without a trace of emotion.

He cut off Li's next question before she could finish.

"Lets spare the small talk and bravado. Tell me the location of your friend Alexander Miller." He ordered in a low cold voice. With his dark, dead-looking eyes Li felt like a shark was questioning her.

"Alex?" Li repeated in surprise before hardening into resolve.

"I have no idea." She answered with a blank expression, the truth ever so painful aloud.

Her interrogator frowned before placing his briefcase on the table, he sighed deeply and opened the coded lock.

"I will ask you one final time, tell me where Alex is or I will kill you." He threatened, speaking slowly so she wouldn't miss a syllable of his deadly intent.

Li paled as the cold man opposite her drew a sterile syringe and needle from the suitcase. He slowly screwed the threaded end of the needle onto the 10ml syringe.

"Help, help police! He is trying to kill me!" Li suddenly yelled at the one-way mirror of a wall, in a moment of inspiration.

The door, however remained resolutely closed, the only noise left in the room being the executioner's haunting chuckle.

"I don't think so my dear, I've arranged it so our little meeting won't be disturbed." He revealed with a sinister smile.

Li watched as the needle was used to penetrate the rubber stopper on an ampoule of clear fluid, with a deft draw back on the syringes plunger, the assassin drew up the contents.

"My friends will stop you." She warned him angrily.

"What friends? "He sneered, quickly becoming sick of the girl sitting in front of him. "We have Hex and Amber on the run, so easy to follow. Paulo died from the carbomb we placed in his ambulance." Her antagonist revealed to her maliciously.

"Paulo?" Li gasped, unable to contain her shock and horror.

"After you, Alex is the last loose end to tie up." He whispered, depressing the plunger to purge the syringe of air and push the liquid right to the end, ready to inject.

"Even if I knew where Alex was I would never tell you." Li hissed in fury, the attack on her friends burning her up inside.

The man shrugged like the information didn't matter that much to him either way. He was just there to do a job and collect a paycheck.

"Fine, goodbye." He casually said before getting up from the table, syringe in hand.

* * *

><p>Hex walked right through the front door of the police station. He too carried a briefcase and looked every part the important yuppie he was pretending to be.<p>

He briskly walked up to the front desk and caught the receptionist's eye.

"Hello, my name is Melvin Price, attorney." He announced in his most upper-class sounding British voice before handing over a fake business card. His false name kept his unwanted first name as a secret message to Li that it was a friend coming to see her.

"I'm here to see my client Ms Liang Chiang," he informed the receptionist, his voice strong with purpose.

"I'm sorry she can't see anyone right now, she's in interrogation room one at the moment." The pretty Japanese receptionist informed him, tapping her computer screen as if it would confirm it.

"Interrogation room?" Hex blustered. "Well she should definitely have her lawyer present during the interview."

"I'm sorry Sir but I was told not to allow anyone in." She begrudgingly told him with an air of apprehension.

"Young lady are you telling me that my client is being denied the right of legal council?" Hex demanded in outrage.

"No but Sir…"

Hex cut across her, both his hands on the desk now.

"You are now officially perverting the course of justice. Her case will never make trial now, I have grounds for dismissal based on coercion." Hex declared, getting into role and enjoying his verbal assault on the precinct.

He had helped Amber with her Law revision and case studies enough times to make a convincing lawyer.

The only reason he went instead of her was because of his specialist skills. Amber was quite disappointed to miss the opportunity but relented with a scowl that his posh British accent was better then hers.

Properly flustered and panicking, concerned about her job, the young admin waved down a police officer to take Hex to Li.

Hex grinned in triumph as he followed the officer into the bowels of the station.

With one hand in his pocket, he pressed two keys on his phone.

In speakerphone mode, it had captured the entire conversation, relaying it back in real time to Paulo and Amber. They had understandably, had a good laugh at Hex's tirade. By pressing two of the buttons he had let his listeners know that he had managed access and that the second phase of the plan was about to begin.

With a small shudder at the narrow corridors and low ceiling, Hex tabled his niggling claustrophobia as he followed the officer in search of Li.

* * *

><p><strong>AN- **My apologies for any mistakes in regards to the legal side of things or the inner workings of the actual Tokyo police station. Neither are areas I can claim to be an expert in so I'm playing the creative license card.

I'll make up for it with some kickarse action next chapter okay? Good.

**-Grey**


	8. Chapter 8

The assassin quickly stalked around the table towards Li.

Light glinted off the bevel of the needle that protruded from between his fingers. Li stumbled backwards out of the chair and got to her feet. She dared not kick out on the off chance that her leg connected with the needle.

A cold sweat ran down her back and her breathing rate had crept up without her notice.

_God I hate injections_ she remembered, noting the effect that the sight of the medical instrument was having on her body. Probably something to do with major surgery she had to mend her fractured femur, or the stab wound, or the… Well there seemed to be too many occasions, too many visits to hospital, any one of which could be identified as the founding for this fear.

Li circled around from her seat keeping the table between herself and her would be attacker, her eyes never left him for a moment.

At loggerheads, the two came to a halt at opposite ends of the furniture, sizing each other up.

Very quickly, Li crouched and lowered her hands where they were cuffed behind her back, she slid them as far down her legs as she could. Then in one smooth movement, she jumped backwards through the hoop created by her connected wrists.

She popped back up with her bound hands now free to move in front of her body.

"Don't make this any rougher then it has to be." The killer warned, feinting one way before brushing the table away the other direction, leaving a clear space between the two.

"Some girls prefer it rough." Li snapped back sardonically in defiance, slipping her foot under the back of her toppled chair and flicking it up in his direction with a kick.

The chair tumbled through the air in his direction, glancing across his midsection and doing no real damage. _A good way to piss off your assassin though, _Li remarked internally on its effect. The man kicked it aside in his stride and advanced upon Li once more.

Li's hands instinctively rose in front of her to cover her head and midsection. Modifying her guard to respond to an edged weapon threat, she dropped a foot back and presented herself more side on to the advancing attacker. She pressed her facing side ear onto the shoulder and rotated the closest arm so it was facing back into her. In this way she covered up most of her main arteries and made it difficult for a weapon to directly pierce her abdominal organs.

It was a defensive stance more suitable for knives or bladed weapons but it would have to make do.

The killer stabbed out at her with the loaded syringe to provoke a reaction.

The sharp point scratched across her closest forearm and continued past it towards her body. Instinctively, she shrunk her waist clear of the needle and caught the offending wrist with one of hands. Reluctant to release the weapon hand she sidestepped up the length of the trapped arm, staying to the outside and elbowing the Asian man in the side of the neck.

This only served to infuriate the man further and he bent his trapped arm, drawing the smaller woman around in front of him again. Focused on trying to strip the weapon, Li didn't see the massive punch coming.

* * *

><p>The cross smashed into her unguarded head, making its first point of contact right on the point of her jaw. The crushing blow triggered a cascade of stars before her eyes and she felt teeth loosen in their sockets. A lesser fighter would have been straight knocked out. As it was, Li held her mental constitution but was floored by the hit.<p>

To her credit, out of desperation and years of experience, she managed to strip the syringe out of his grip, as one final act before she dropped. This was achieved by wrenching his thumb back in the opposite direction it was made to go. With a fleshly clunk the essential joint gave out and the syringe plunged from his grasp, tumbling with Li to the floor.

The weight of the punch caused her to turn almost a full 180 in midair and sent the needle from her grasp as well. It fell separately from the girl who had fought so hard to free it.

Li landed facedown with forearms flat on the ground, her hips and chest were held off the ground by her straight spread legs that absorbed the weight on the balls of her feet. At the last second she turned to look to a side, thus stoping her nose being broken if her face impacted with the ground. She held this _Ukemi _or breakfall for a split second before her balance was raped.

Her injured opponent was now acting in rage, his weapon disregarded, he preferred to finish the bothersome girl using his natural weapons. The first kick he sunk into her ribs was loaded with incredible vengeance and power, sufficient enough to lift Li momentarily from her breakfall before she crumpled to the floor. One kick was never going to be enough for him and he really started to put the boot into the prone girl. Li's ribs already protested the brutality of the first hit but were completely overshadowed by the pain she felt, as she wore his second kick right over top the kidney.

Li gasped out in raw hurt, a grimace and noise like a fish reeled from the water by the hook. Her body reflexively cringed in towards the injury to guard it from further damage and she huddled over on her side. The next furious kick crashed against her dual forearms that protected her head and chest.

_He's going to beat me to death if I don't do something, _Li realised in horror.

Red spots danced in her vision but the gut wrenching agony of her flank had cleared her head to a degree. Somehow she managed to catch the next kick, which again hammered an aching forearm. Her other hand pounced on its own to ensnare around the back of the ankle and immobilise his heel. Before he could react, she charged forward with her guarding forearm at the same time she pulled into herself on the heel.

This cunning Jujitsu technique proved effective even in handcuffs and the leverage applied made it impossible for her enemy to stay standing. Li kept a hold on the ankle as her opponent toppled and she scooted her legs around to trap overtop of his.

She slid her forearm under the medial aspect of the captured ankle and braced her hands together. Li took a deep breath and jerked her forearm up and around with all her might. A sharp series of cracks issued from the pinned ankle as she created a massive spiralling fracture in the bone with a savage heelhook.

The owner screamed piercingly in unrelenting agony, the soundproofed walls echoing his unbearable pain he managed to kick free with his good leg and lash out at the girl who was still holding his shattered ankle.

The desperate kick caught Li squarely in the sternum and emptied her lungs with its force. Fighting to drag breath in through her aching chest, Li discarded the unusable ankle and swiftly shuffled back out of the range of the continued flurry of kicks.

Her chest crushed horrendously with each breath and she almost passed out twice trying to get to her feet, at her newly gained distance from the hobbled man. The injured assassin blocked her path to the door and Li realised that escape was not an option.

* * *

><p>With a lurch Li staggered behind the man, who had just sat up, and she flung her arms over his head. She then yanked her arms hard back towards her body and sat down, which hauled the chain from her handcuffs tight across her surprised opponents throat.<p>

A gurgle of surprise escaped the hitman's lips, as the metal links crushed in excruciatingly on his trachea and carotid. His hands, following instinct, flew up to his neck and scrambled at the chain trying to release the lethal pressure.

Li buried her face into her own bicep as one of the desperate hands reached past the links and fumbled for her eyes or throat, anything to stop the life being throttled from him. Broken fingernails, scratched lines down her cheek and neck and it was all she could do to try and keep the tension across her aching wrists. The choking man flailed wildly, his limbs thrashing against the ground and his assailent.

Li's chest splintered in suffering with each breath and her injured kidney throbbed. With the difficulty breathing and the blurred vision she felt like she was trying to stay alive underwater. Trying and failing. Her body gave a small tremor of universal hurt and she fought the vomit in her throat.

_Just a little longer_ Li encouraged herself, as the fight began to slow in her victim.

Almost as soon as she thought it, she felt her own consciousness begin to wane and her strangle loosened, her strength being stolen. The concurrent injuries and pain present in her was beginning to overwhelm her will.

_No, not now! _Li thought in desperation, knowing that to lose this strangle and pass out meant certain death.

She focused every muscle fibre she had and dug her forearms and elbows into the back of her ailing opponent. The chain hooked tighter momentarily and blood leaked slowly between the links. Unfortunately the increase in effort seemed to dim the light in her eyes even further and Li felt her reality begin to slip.

A small corner of her mind saw the door open in the edge of her vision, whether it spelt death or salvation she knew not.

* * *

><p>Hex stood framed by the door in apoplectic shock at the sight of the death struggle before him. To his rear right stood the older officer who had escorted him to the room, his face wore a similar expression at the sight in front of them.<p>

In the fraction of a second he stood there evaluating, Hex met Li's silently begging eyes, they were filled with a fear and desperation he had never seen before. It turned out to be her final effort before slumping forward onto her opponents back, her arms going limp.

Without thinking, Hex swung back with his right arm and collected the officer behind him square in the nose with a hard elbow. The surprised policeman's head snapped violently and his skull connected solidly with the wall behind him.

Hex didn't even turn to see the reaction, fearing for Li he lunged into the fray instead.

With the pressure across his throat and major blood vessels released, Li's attacker started to regain function and recover from his near unconscious state.

Hex's right arm swung back through from the elbow and hurled the sturdy briefcase forward on an underhand arch, as he advanced. Forgetting about his weakened hand, Hex accidentally released the container as it finished its trajectory right into the side of the groggy, Asian assassin's head. It dashed the reviving man's head sideways with the force and distracted his hands from the loose chain that hung around his neck like particularly ugly jewellery.

Forgetting his weapon, Hex saw his opportunity and took one final step to kneel behind Li's unresponsive form. He linked his weak right around her body and through the gap between her flank and bicep, finally coming to rest intertwined on her right forearm. With a whispered apology to his unresponsive friend, his stronger left hand enclosed around her left wrist and both hands dragged down together.

The chain whipped tight once more across the raw neck of the would-be-assassin, with a renewed vigour. Once more his desperate hands flailed up at his strangler, this time however he had somehow recovered his syringe and needle from earlier. The mysterious point flew up dangerously close to the limp Li and Hex rolled his left elbow up, so that his forearm checked further stabs.

A sharp sting attacked his lower arm and he felt a hot trickle of blood trail down his arm. Looking down, Hex realised in fright that in his victim's throes, he had stuck the needle into his defending wrist. Panicked at the thought of what was in the syringe, Hex unwound his clumsy right hand and shoved away his opponents needle wielding left.

In a brief flicker of a glimpse he caught, as the needle was pushed out of his arm, Hex flooded with relief to see that the plunger hadn't been depressed. This meant that whatever was in the syringe had not been injected into his body.

Faced with overwhelming force, the fading man's weapon hand was shoved back towards his own body and Hex was not quick enough to react when his movement continued the needles path right into its wielders chest. This time the plunger was pushed in with the momentum of the Hex's defence. The sneak froze in a moment of panic, as he suddenly realised that his shady payload had been delivered into himself rather then the new defender.

Blood ran down Li's wrists from the strain of the cuffs, as the stabbed man she was unconsciously choking, bucked and seized for half a minute before descending into flaccid stillness. Hex held the pressure on with his steadfast left hand for just a further second until he was positive the man was unconscious, before letting go.

He gently lifted Li's battered wrists, loosening the chain from around the other limp figures neck, where it had had dug into the skin hard enough to bruise heavily and draw blood.

Separating her from her opponent he rolled her into the recovery position and checked her airway and breathing. No sooner had he opened her mouth, did she vomit forcibly and he only just pulled his face away in time. The multicoloured, chunky fluid spilled over onto the lapels of his jacket and dripped onto his pants.

Hex groaned at the sudden development and overpowering smell before turning his attention back to the cause of it.

Li's lips started murmuring quiet words and her eyes flickered weakly to a half mast.

Hex took a half step back, not keen to be hurled on twice and to give her a chance to come around without someone right in her face.

"That's a girl Li, come back to us." He whispered gently, his arm sitting supportively on her shoulder. He wished that their medic, Paulo was there to deal with the sick girl instead of him.

Li responded to the familiar voice by increasing her mumbling and eye movement, her limbs tugged into her body as it became aware of the pain it was in.

While he gave her a moment to collect her senses, he surveyed the scene of destruction that was before him. A table and two chairs scattered around a room, drops of blood littering the floor and a brief case overturned, its contents strewn. An unconscious man lay splayed in his back, the large syringe still sticking up vertically out of his chest, which was now rising unevenly. Hex slowly made his way to his own suitcase and picked it up gingerly with his weak hand.

A moan reminded his calculating brain that his friend was still there and he hastily turned to see her sitting up.

"Hex?" She mumbled painfully through swollen lips, she was sitting up and looking around slightly disorientated.

"Hey Li," Hex replied with a weak grin, gently unlocking the cuffs at her wrist with a key from his pocket.

"Time to get out of here aye?" He suggested, carefully helping her to her feet.

She shakily stood, each centimetre of height increasing the thumping in her head. Losing to the nausea that accompanied it, she leaned over and chundered the last of her guts out all over Hex's expensive, black leather shoes. The hacker turned his head away, grimacing at the smell and unpleasant warmth that seeped into his socks.

A small glass vial on the floor caught his gaze and he left Li wiping her mouth while he bent and picked it up.

"Hmm potassium chloride." He muttered to himself, reading the label, before absently tossing it over his shoulder and returning to Li's side, assiting her to the door.

"Sorry." She mumbled miserably, as they sidestepped her fresh puddle of stomach contents and stopped at the door.

"Hold up here," Hex instructed poking his head out and was relieved to see his escort, still out cold after being brained by the suitcase.

From his pocket he retrieved a small Bluetooth headset and slid the device onto his ear.

"Okay I've found her, we need a good ten minutes to get out." He told the rest of the team.

"Good work Hex," Amber praised, trying to hide her joy at the news.

"We'll start the distraction." She confirmed at the other end of the line, waving to Paulo and pointing down the street they were both standing.

"Roger that, out." Hex signed off, turning back to Li.

She leaned heavily on the doorframe, breathing shallowly with her hands clutching her sore side. Blood dripped freely from her nose and mouth, staining her teeth red, bruises on her cheek and jaw were already starting to rise and push one of her eyes closed. Vertical bleeding stripes ran the length of her cheek and neck where desperate hands had tried to claw for respite.

_Damn she looks like shit, _he thought to himself, careful not to vocalise this fact to her. _This may be harder then we initially thought, _Hex admitted to himself, having not compensated much in their plans for the state of Li's wellbeing for their jailbreak.

"Come on Li," Hex encouraged, gently linking an arm under her shoulders and pulling her off the doorframe.

"We don't have much time." He admitted flatly.

"Right." She exclaimed resignedly, confirming her status and allowing him to help her down the empty corridor.


	9. Chapter 9

"Alright lets move people!" Amber yelled at the slow moving crowd in her most authoritive voice.

Walking among the diverse group of activists, Amber and Paulo fitted in seamlessly, having met the right demographic. By being young, loud and alternatively dressed, the pair effectively became part of the crowd that marched on the police station.

Paulo wrinkled his nose at the funny smelling, fair trade clothes, made of natural recyclable fibres that Amber had found for him. They were in bland earthen colours and more then a little bit itchy, but at least somewhere, some poor peasants were getting a decent dollar for their hard marched forcefully along beside him, very much looking the part with a determined look on her face and a long fair trade ochre skirt.

Flags, posters and banners were scattered throughout the crowd, which had grown to almost a hundred people. Images of butchered whales, leaky, oily whaling vessels and the stock news photo of their hero; Liang Chiang were plastered to the carried medium. Others carried signs with slogans like 'Free our Li' or 'Guilty of saving our planet'.

The motivation for the protest was obvious and a cause that had grown from a spark, requiring very little fanning from Amber and Paulo on the sidelines. The pair had helped antagonise things further though, with a few antigovernment chants. Their cartons of eggs and flour bombs certainly helped too.

Paulo grinned up at the poster size photo of Li, _she would just hate this,_ he thought to himself, imagining his humble friend's reaction. _Without knowing it, the girl has made herself a martyr, _he decided, seeing the passion from the protestors as they drew closer to the station.

While he could see Amber really getting into the movement and chanting heartily with the rest, he felt somewhat more subdued as though he was just going through the motions. A pretty young woman in a poncho sidled up beside him and stared admiringly at the Li picket sign in his hand. Paulo found his grin again at the attention, _maybe protesting isn't so bad _he decided.

Chants grew stronger the closer they got to her holding location and the voices rang out; demanding the release of their eco-warrior. The increasing general disturbance right on their front doorstep drew an increasing police presence. Officers spilled enmasse from the station, dressed in riot protection gear and watching the crowd nervously as they continued to grow in numbers and activity.

Paulo looked across through the crowd and laughed, as he saw Amber lead the barrage of eggs. _If I didn't know any better, I'd swear she's enjoying herself, _he contemplated, watching her vibrant face. As his feisty friend sconed a staunch looking officer right in the face with an egg, he had to rephrase this thought; _Okay, I'm sure she's enjoying herself._

"Pity," Paulo said to himself as he watched two attractive female protestors holding hands while chanting enthusiastically.

"Paulo." Amber reminded him, as their numbers swelled and threatened to break over the station and he returned to making a commotion.

* * *

><p>Inside, Hex and Li made their way through the almost abandoned building.<p>

They followed the map that Hex had managed to 'acquire' on his palmtop, even though the architectural plans for buildings like police stations were supposed to be unavailable for security reasons.

They were slowed in their travel by locked doors that separated areas of the large station. For the first lock, an electronic one with both a code and card slot on it, he retrieved a special card with cables running off it from his briefcase. Li took advantage of the break to lean against the cold cement wall of the building as he plugged the cables into his powerful palmtop. He left his cracking card in the slot and after about thirty seconds at work, the light on the lock turned green and they moved on through.

At every successive door they had to stop while Hex used his hacking implement to jimmy the lock.

The pair slunk their way through the motor pool office and Li had the presence of mind to swipe a set of car keys. From there it was straight on to the garage.

Hex cracked the final lock and they were entering the garage when a voice stopped them.

"Stop right there." Li's female guard from before commanded, from the other end of the hallway. The sporadic trail of blood drops had led her straight to the escaped prisoner.

Hex pushed Li into the garage.

"Get a car," He yelled, as the young officer broke into a sprint towards him.

He waited on the threshold until she was a little closer, before stepping through the door himself.

"I'm really sorry," Hex apologised genuinely, before slamming the open door hard into her. The lightly built officer bounced backwards off the door as it slammed into her face. He was a bit ashamed at the dirty trick, especially on a police officer, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Hex heard angry cursing and a desperate scrabbling, as the indignant officer frantically tried to find her electronic key card. He peered around the parking structure and couldn't see Li anywhere. His stomach did little flips at the fact.

_Where the hell is that girl?_ He cursed internally, stuck in place scanning the cars in frustration.

_We are running out of time!_

* * *

><p>Suddenly the door Hex had just slammed swung open, to reveal a bloody faced, pissed as hell policewoman. The colliding door looked as though it had broken her nose with the force and possibly knocked out a tooth or two. Understandably, she did not look happy, as any woman would justifiably be after undergoing such an abrupt, unwanted nosejob.<p>

Hex immediately regretted his doorplay and was repentant for having to mar the woman's appearance.

She cursed him in Japanese and reached for one of her holsters. With nothing else to call on and not wanting to further hurt the innocent policewoman, Hex did the only thing he could. He threw his briefcase of lockbreaking equipment at the surprised officer.

As instinct would dictate, at such close range she brought both hands up automatically to catch the thrown object.

With a squeal of burning rubber, Li suddenly pulled up right in front of Hex in a stolen patrol car. He piled in without needing her hurrying hand gesture and they piled straight out through the barrier arm, into the overcast day.

For her part, their pursuer stood stock-still, frozen with disbelief before dropping the battered briefcase and slowly reaching for her radio.

To Li's surprise, Hex ordered her to pull over the car almost straight away. They debussed on a quiet side street and she followed him as he started walking.

While they travelled Hex stripped down; discarding the horn-rimmed glasses in a drain and yanking off his suit jacket to ditch it in a dumpster. He stuffed the only tie he owned into his pocket instead of discarding it. They carried down side streets until Hex had stripped down to just his shoes, trousers and dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

Giving his hair a quick tussle, he effectively changed his appearance significantly from the lawyer who had busted out a convict. Part of the lawyer persona had been based on mannerisms, but by having noticeable characteristics or attire like the glasses, he created features that people would remember and focus on when recalling the person.

On their journey they also managed to acquire a cheap sundress, scarf and jacket for Li to pull over top her prison garments. With the further addition of a cheap baseball cap, pulled low on her face and with her hair tucked in, it helped create an effective light disguise.

Li felt decidedly worse for wear, especially from the all the walking, but with Hex's support, she managed to walk arm in arm with him without limping or staggering. Her free hand however stayed firmly inside her jacket, supporting her injured side. By all appearances, they were just another couple going for a walk through the big city, a cover so good they were passed by several police cruisers without a second glance.

_I hope Amber doesn't get jealous,_ Li though mischievously as she leaned her head on Hex to complete the effect.

* * *

><p>Accordingly, it was a very different pair who met Amber and Paulo back at the hotel.<p>

"Paulo!" Li cried in surprise and joy to see the large Argentinean still alive. Ignoring her aching body, she launched herself into a massive hug.

"I thought you were dead." She whispered quietly, ashamed that she had believed it to be true.

"Na, just a bad sunburn," he replied with a wink and trademark grin, despite his sad eyes that told of other losses. _Things almost feel complete with Li back_, he decided happily, delighted by the successful rescue.

_Almost_.

"Aww you lost the briefcase I bought you," Amber pouted at Hex, with her hands on her hips assertively.

Hex rolled his eyes at the shallow ribbing before jousting back, he was more displeased at losing his expensive lockbusting equipment.

"The whole hippy thing, it's a good look for you Amber." He commented mockingly, taking in the long plain dress that he knew she despised.

Amber shot him a look of challenge before, surprisingly agreeing with him, her face switched to one of pseudo-innocence.

"You think so? Maybe I should stop shaving my legs to really go with the look?"

The whole group laughed as Hex tried frantically to backpedal on his comment.

Li suddenly embraced both Amber and Hex one at a time.

"It is so good to see you guys." She admitted, her eyes bright with jubilation.

Her mood quickly darkened though. "We have to find Alex, before they find him." She declared firmly, not wanting to think of her friend facing off against an assassin of his own.

* * *

><p>With her piece finally said, Li finally sat down on one of the beds and allowed herself to be examined by Paulo.<p>

The fledgling medic studiously examined her from head to toe, even going as far to percuss her ribs with a series of taps and auscultate her lungs with a stethoscope. He frowned as he examined her flank and ribs; surprisingly professional in his demeanour, despite the fact that she had removed her shirt to better allow him to examine her.

With just a light prod to her kidney, Li almost sprung off the bed in pain. Pulses of residual pain coursed from the site even after he removed the deft finger.

He finished his examination and stood back up again with a troubled look on his face and he waited to talk to her until she had put a shirt back on.

"What's the diagnosis?" Li asked cautiously, having noted his contemplating expression.

Hex looked up from his palmtop and Amber returned from showering to hear what their friend had found in his examination.

Paulo's troubled expression remained as he informed the group of his findings.

"I think you might have been knocked out briefly at some point in your struggle. Your nose has been broken and it will be a week or two before the bruising to your jaw and eyes fade." He revealed, starting his report from the head and working his way down.

"Good news is I don't think you have fractured your skull or any vertebrae and both your lungs appear intact, despite your several fractured ribs and what may be a cracked sternum. It is going to be _grande _painful to breath, but at least you still can." He followed up, checking things off in his head as he listed them.

Li absorbed it all with a nonchalant silence, having received a few injuries in her time on the mat. _Small injuries compared to being stabbed or shot,_ she figured thinking of the result of past missions.

"The one that worries me a bit is just your left kidney, which sees awful swollen and tender. You say that you took a decent kick there did you? Because you've bruised it up pretty bad, maybe even ruptured it in that fight." Paulo finished declaring his findings and threw his hands up in the air helplessly. Hex's frown stretched at this last part.

"Not much, I can do for these injuries except a bit of strapping, a lot of analgesics and rest." Paulo admitted, outlining his treatment plan to the gathered friends.

Li didn't like the sound of a ruptured kidney much, but she held her tongue and stood instead. "I'll start with a shower, I think," She declared, "I still smell like a damn fishing boat and then I'll get right onto that rest okay?"

She grabbed some spare clothes from Amber's bag and carefully walked to the bathroom. With their recently rescued friend out of earshot, Hex and Amber turned back to question Paulo.

"Is she alright to go with us Paulo?" Hex asked, cutting straight to the chase.

Paulo looked uneasy, deliberating his answer before slowly replying.

"Maybe. Things could get a lot worse for her if she has busted a kidney _amigo_, but I don't think we can stop her from coming with us." He surmised, having taken into consideration the likely medical condition and his friend's stubborn personality.

Amber puzzled over this conclusion, wondering if she or any of the others would feel any different in the same situation. She decided that if she was in Li's shoes, she would insist on coming too and simply push through any extra pain that meant.

"We keep a close eye on her then." Amber decided for the group, drawing agreement from the two boys.

Li stepped from the bathroom looking refreshed, but scowling as if she knew she had been the topic of discussion. Her long midnight hair was wrapped in a towel and looking cleaner then it had in a week.

"So what's the plan? Where do we find Alex?" She asked with enthusiasm, accepting an icepack from Paulo to press to her swollen face.

Hex and Amber shared a knowing look.

"We have no solid information as to where Alex might be." Hex admitted gruffly, deferring to Amber with a nod.

"But we think we've got a pretty good place to start." The American girl announced with an unusual expression. 

_Was that guilt?_ Li wondered, examining her friends face.


	10. Chapter 10

Having visited only once or twice before, the group was a little bit awkward about their destination.

Amber remembered the house exactly; indeed it would a hard memory for her to forget. As the group stood in front of simple, single story house, she couldn't help but think that the outside hadn't changed at all since Hex and her had visited eighteen months ago.

On the outside there was no change, but inside it was a whole different matter altogether.

Inside, the home and the family had lost a son.

A cold Northumbrian wind haunted across the group, creating an eerily similar feel to what it had been like last time.

Amber clutched Hex's hand as the sad memories arose from their last visit to Alex's house.

The four young adults shared a nervous glance at each other, the streetlights barely reaching them on the small suburban street. The presence of Paulo and Li helped, last time it had only been Amber and Hex who made the guilty journey up the small path to the door.

In trepidation, Amber raised a shaking hand and rapped firmly on the door.

Anticipation grew among the friends when movement could be heard inside, as someone came to answer their knock.

The heavy oaken door was bravely pulled back from inside to reveal Alex's father.

* * *

><p>Standing at over six foot, he was a formidable looking man, with a hard physique despite his age. The resemblance between father and son was strong, the father however appearing much larger in build, the result of decades of fitness work. Having only met him once or twice prior, Li thought he looked exactly how she imagined an old Alex.<p>

The only outward concessions to age were found on his head and in his face. Like his son, the man's hair was the same light blonde colour, the only difference being the peppering of grey throughout and the faded lustre at the edges. His face was creased with wrinkles; the aftermath of countless times of suffering, happiness and concentration.

Paulo got the feeling that lately the wrinkles wouldn't have been made much from happiness.

Lynx-eyed and tall enough to look Hex in the eye, he was a formidable presence for the unannounced guests.

Upon seeing the number of guests and their respective sizes, the homeowner took a half step back and his hands slunk to his collar. A modified defensive posture that went unrecognised by everyone but their master of self-defence, Li.

The stormy grey eyes seemed to pierce the group, guardedly.

The four friends stood in awed silence as they were overwhelmed by the resemblance to their missing mate.

"What do you want?" He enquired in a slow voice as deep as thunder, seeming to not recognise the young people in front of him.

The grim baritone almost made Amber want to apologise for getting the wrong house and leave, but the hand in hers helped her stay. Unsteadily she spoke up for the group.

"Uh, Mr. Miller? Sir, I don't know if you remember us, but I'm Amber and this is Hex."

She paused in her reintroduction, as he didn't respond.

"We were, ah rather are, friends of Alex. May we come in?" she finally continued, wondering again to herself if it was such a good idea.

At the mention of his son, the seasoned soldier seemed to grow taller and harder looking.

"What is this all about now?" He asked coldly, the question a warning, as he stepped aside to allow the friends into his home.

Mr. Miller appeared to relax as the group moved into the light of the house. As if recognising them for the first time, he greeted them each properly in turn before guiding them into the modest lounge.

_I guess a guy with his history is bound to have few enemies, _Hex concluded, noticing the change. _Is this going to be us in a few years time? Suspicious every time there is a knock on the door?_ He suddenly realised with a jolt in his gut.

"Alex was lucky to have such good friends, even if all you did was get up to mischief." Mr. Miller conceded sadly, a compliment with a backhand to it.

Paulo lowered his head at the statement. He felt sorry for the hardened man, who obviously missed his only son something fierce.

Amber and Hex shared a silent look, reassuring each other that they did the right thing in telling Alex's parents about Alpha Force. The group discussed it and they felt obliged to do so after he disappeared.

"Well that is part of what we are here about Mr. Miller." Amber confessed. "Recent events have led us to believe that we may be in danger because of past actions as Alpha Force.

Alex's father narrowed his gaze on her and grunted, "Go on."

"We have reason to believe that Alex might also be in danger Sir." Paulo elaborated.

The wizened man sidestepped the second half of the explanation and latched onto the first.

"What makes you think that you are endanger?" He questioned them obtusely.

"The attempts on each of out lives was the give away for me Mr. Miller." Li decided with sarcasm.

Now he was really listening.

"Individual attempts?" He reiterated, seeking further clarification.

"With poisons, firearms, bombs and no regard for collateral damage." Paulo explained morosely.

"Please just call me Steve," Alex's dad replied and he stood suddenly.

* * *

><p>He addressed the group at large.<p>

"It certainly sounds serious, what is going on and I think you are right in thinking the deadly side of things may carry as far as my son."

The group rose to their feet and followed Steve to the garage of the suburban home.

The passed photos of a proud father and son, with a happy mother. A young Alex playing with matches in the garden. Uniformed hardmen and pictures of the two males in the bush looked out at them from their frames in the hall.

Li's chest gave a little jump to see that their group photo had made the wall of fame too.

A single, bare bulb dangled from the ceiling and cast shadows in the neat and orderly garage, everything had its place and Steve knew exactly where to go, to find what he needed.

_It's nothing like my fathers garage_, Paulo thought in amusement, remembering the cluttered work desk and overflowing bins full of spare machinery parts. It could not have contrasted stronger with the very neat, very organised room he now stood in. Back home, the floor was bare shingle, stained from spilled oil and dripped grease.

His dad always seemed to have a project to work on in there, whether it was one of the bikes or a saddle for the horse. There was always an empty space on the far bench though, this was where Paulo had sat when he was younger to watch his father work to maintain the ranch's fleet. When he got older he started to help more and watch less, the whole time he learnt in fascination about the wonderful nature of machines.

Taking in the simple room Hex revised his previous thoughts about it being Spartan, as he noticed posters on the walls calling for troopers; the words silhouetted by a winged dagger. Challenges for Selection, were emblazoned over the shadow of an armed assault team. Plaques, trophies and various other military awards decorated the space, giving it the feel of a shrine to achievement embodied in a room.

A weightlifting bench was tucked neatly in one corner with an impressive load in the collars. _Is Steve lifting all that, _Hex thought in amazement, eyeing the extreme weight and thinking it would be too much for him or Paulo to move. On the beam above the bench, a bar was suspended horizontally, for what Hex assumed was for doing chin-ups on.

"So you know where Alex is?" Amber pressed the older man, as she followed him around the double garage.

From under the workbench he slid out a heavy, locked mortar crate. He found his key for the padlock before answering her.

"I've got a pretty good idea where to start looking." He firmly declared, as if it was the only logical place he could be.

He gestured to several fish boxes stacked against the wall.

"It's going to be nippy where he is, grab whatever cold weather gear you need from the boxes."

Everyone bar Hex, started sifting through the loaded containers of gear, finding gloves, balaclavas, shemaghs and smocks.

Hex was preoccupied with watching Steve, as he withdrew a weathered looking snow camouflage MOLLE daypack.

"Boys, there will be boots in your sizes at the bottom. Ladies; we will have to pick you up some on the way." He informed them.

"Wait, you're planning on coming with us?" Hex asked suddenly, picking up on the 'we' in the last sentence.

Steve Miller rounded on him, drawing his considerable height.

"You bet your arse I am. It sounds like you are dealing with professionals, to beat them you may need one yourself."

He followed up his declaration with a sad smile, his grey eyes holding the exact emotion his son's had when he left.

"Besides, it is long overdue that I visited my son."

* * *

><p>The four friends slept on the couches that night and they left the next morning before it was light.<p>

A single note on the bench from Steve was enough to explain things to his wife, it read:

Alex needs me. 

_S_.

"She would understand," was all the answer he gave Amber, as she watched him scrawl the message.

"Is it alright for you to just leave like this without telling the SAS?" Li asked him from the passenger seat as they drove to the airport.

Steve didn't break contact with the road for a second, as he hesitantly answered her in his gravely voice.

"I'm uh, not with the Group anymore actually. Not operationally anyway, I'm helping with the selection and training of new Troopers."

"I'm getting a bit too old to be kicking in doors and making forty km tabs in the desert." He finished, sounding a little bit despondent but giving her a wink all the same.

"Oh." Li responded in astonishment, not really knowing what else to say.

"From what Alex always told me about your groups activities on the books, I half-expected to see one of your names on my nominal role for selection one day." He admitted with typically slow Miller smile.

Amber listened to the exchange with interest; she was surprised that Steve had retired to a teaching and directing staff role. From Alex had always told them, his dad was one of the best and loved the work.

_What had caused that change?_

She sent Hex a questioning look and received a nod for her effort. It was becoming increasingly frequent that her partner was on the same wavelength as her and they were able to communicate without a word passing between them.

A honk and some angry shouts threw Amber from this pleasing thought, as Steve swerved through an intersection, cutting off a milkman.

Beside her, Paulo shuddered at the older man's poor driving.

_If he taught Alex to drive, then it is the last time we're letting our boy drive the Unimog! _He though smarmily.

To Steve's credit they arrived at the airport alive, albeit having not had the smoothest ride there.

They entered the terminal and Steve immediately took charge.

"Follow my lead five minutes apart, if you have a fake passport, use it." He instructed before walking up to the booking counter.

Luckily, because of Hex's skills on a computer and some of the less the reputable friends he had made in cyberspace, they had all acquired a couple of forged passports for this eventuality. Hex had even backed them up electronically so there would be no problems with the chips in them.

Steve spoke in a clear loud voice when he made his booking.

"One-way, economy class ticket to Calgary Canada please." He requested making sure the others heard him.

"Canada?" Li mouthed to Paulo, who shrugged.

With their mystery destination revealed, the team brought their tickets as instructed and had boarded within the hour.

The flight was virtually empty and the group relaxed a bit, confident they were safe for the journey.

* * *

><p>Several hours and a broken sleep later, they touched down in Canada; where the people are friendly and the snow is abundant.<p>

The group silently thanked Steve for outfitting them correctly for the journey. It only struck Hex as ominous that all their cold weather gear was in a muted white colour.

With a rented car they set off for some obscure point that Steve knew of in Northern Canada.

Thankfully the older man had to focus on the navigation and relinquished the wheel to the four friends instead.

It was a journey of over six hours and Paulo took the first shift before he swapped out with Hex, so he could get some shuteye.

The three in the back were all soon asleep, Amber and Paulo leaned into the middle, squashing the smaller Li in their slumber.

The hacker smiled into his mirror at the view of his girlfriend asleep on the pile, happier then he had seen her in a long while.

Steve caught his expression and shook his head disapprovingly, despite the easy grin he wore.

"Fraternisation within a unit, I've never approved." He declared in amusement.

Hex hesitated, not quite knowing what to say to that.

"In my experience, it compromises both the integrity and battle efficiency of a unit." He explained, still not sounding to reproachable.

"Well I wouldn't exactly call us a battle unit." Hex redressed, dodging the main thrust of the point.

"Any unit that gets into trouble and has to fight their way out is a battle unit aren't they? Even if fighting wasn't their original intention." Steve suggested, with a slight rebuke to his tone.

Hex took a moment to check his passengers were sleeping before he replied.

"To be honest, I don't know how much longer we can be called a unit for." Hex admitted plainly, vocalising months of accumulated thoughts.

"Why's that?" the soldier asked, his curiosity roused by the intelligent hackers negative statement.

"Well to start with, we aren't much good without Alex. I don't quite know everything it was he added but now that it's gone we barely get by as a group." Hex awkwardly explained, all to aware he was mentioning the man's missing son.

Steve didn't reply but seemed to grow with a father's pride.

"And nowadays, everyone is becoming so busy outside of the group, saving the world in their own ways that we barely see each other anymore. We've all got lives and jobs that demand more and more of our time." He continued, spilling his thoughts.

The passenger nodded in acknowledgment, but let the driver carry on his toil uninterrupted.

"Finally our missions just seem to get harder too, nothing is black and white anymore. It has taken its toll on everyone and I think that was part of why Alex left. Jeez the last mission we did without him was a bloody disaster." Hex finished in exasperation.

He cringed internally, remembering the fiasco in Mexico, the unanswered questions and unresolved problems. It was the first time they tried to do something since Alex left and it all went to hell in a hand basket. Amber and him especially lost a lot of sleep over that mission and its outcome.

It felt better having shared his thoughts and Hex realised that he hadn't minded talking to Alex's dad about these things. He actually felt a wave of jealousy towards his absent friend, considering the lacking father figure from his own life. It was something he hadn't known about to miss, but now he felt as though he had really lost out. _Thanks dad, _he cursed his paternal figure with sarcasm and not for the first time either.

* * *

><p>Steve took all this in with silence, finally he spoke.<p>

"Life becomes harder as things change Hex, one thing you will notice is that when that happens people have a tendency to take the easy way out. In this instance, the easiest option for you and your friends is to focus on your own civilian endeavours and slowly phase out your collective missions. You all feel like you are helping people in a way, but it denotes a reduced risk them the quasi-legal operations you conducted as Alpha Force. It is understandable too, for so long you guys have grown and adapted to combat global injustice however it presented right?"

Hex nodded dryly at his correct assessment and Steve continued.

"The changes you have all made to keep being Alpha Force hasn't always been pleasant though, have they? You've come face to face with suffering and death, even dealt it at times, I can see the scars."

Hex was speechless from the soldier's summary.

"The way I see it, you are left with only two options really aren't you?" Steve presented, eyeing him intently and holding out one in each hand.

"You could take the easiest way and further integrate yourself into society, finding a path and place where you can get some fulfilment from helping others or fighting injustice in the world. Or you can further adapt, grow as a team and a force into the people you have to be to get the results in a changing world. The changes may not be easy, or pleasant but they will mean you survive and keep surviving."

When he boiled it down to that it made a lot of sense to Hex. _Adapt to overcome or call it quits and be happy with what we have done and still can do. _

"So what's the right answer then?" Hex finally asked him, unsure of his own stance on things.

Steve chuckled sadly, "Well that is a choice you need to make as a group now isn't it?"

With the new choice to consider, Hex slipped back into silence and concentrated once more on the road.


	11. Chapter 11

Li didn't remember falling asleep, but she woke up to find herself alone in the backseat of the stationary vehicle. It was getting dark outside already. She climbed outside and shivered as a bracing breeze blew straight through her clothes. Looking ahead towards the direction of the cold wind, she saw a towering white expanse of hills and forest that tapered off into the skyline.

Shivering again, she ducked back into the vehicle to put on some warmer clothes.

Li climbed out a minute later in full white snow gear, her new, pale boots crunched on the frosty evening snow. In the fading light she could just make out the silhouette of her friends, they were busy setting up a campsite.

Steve, seeing that she had arisen, nodded to Paulo, who disappeared back to the vehicle.

Five minutes later he had it camouflaged up with white netting, parked up tight against a snow bank. Using the experts advice, he then counted his paces to the vehicle from the nearest memorable tree. He memorised the number and carved it into an inconspicuous branch just above head height.

As the experienced soldier had explained, vehicles could be buried within an hour by heavy snowfall, it made hiding them easy but finding them a challenge.

Back at the camp, Hex and Amber had been working to create two low shelters out of snow and fallen pine branches. The smaller limbs and needles formed a fine bed for the group, it would effectively insulate from the notorious heat sapping ground.

For dinner they ate cold the sandwich's they had purchased when they stopped to buy the girl's boots.

Steve didn't allow a fire to Paulo's despair; he called it a security risk, Paulo called it a necessity.

He gave them a brief after they had cleaned up and prepared for bed.

"We travel fast and light early tomorrow morning, with all tactical considerations taken." He ordered, watching the faces around him for any kind of objection.

"We must consider the possibility that a hunter force is already out here and accordingly, we don't want to be found before we get to Alex." Steve explained in rationale.

Li nodded in approval at having the reasons for his decisions out in the open. It felt what she imagined an actual orders group before a military operation felt like. She realised that in his time this man must have delivered a fair few such orders and explained why tonight's appeared so smooth.

Their commander wasn't finished though.

"Sentry every night," He continued, "Double stag. I'll start with Li for the first hour and then do the final hour with Hex."

Paulo gulped, sentry always meant not as much sleep as he'd like, but he dared not complain.

"Eat and drink as much as you can now because there won't be a lot of it to come." He finally warned.

"Wow," Amber commented sarcastically to the others after Steve left them for sentry. "It looks like we ended up joining the SAS after all."

Hex gave her a small grin for her effort, but couldn't help remember the soldier's words from earlier in the car.

* * *

><p>The next day the group got up at first light and packed away their gear in near darkness<p>

They ate a small breakfast on the run, as they trudged through the thin snow.

It was hard going and Steve set a gruelling pace for them to keep on the first leg through blanketed forest.

He allowed Amber to take point, running off the bearing he had given her. Hex took up second in order of march, counting pace for her.

Li's ribs complained with the extra breathing it required getting her up the steady slope, but she resolutely showed none of this pain. Her leg that had been broken also gave her grief in the low temperature, which seemed to stiffen it and make it reluctant to move. Stubbornly, she pushed on at the punishing speed, reluctant to show weakness in front of the legendary warrior.

Behind her, Paulo puffed along in her wake, both hands were held to his face, cooling it with handfuls of snow periodically.

_Snow id good for burns, _he thought, with a sigh of relief.

The pine forest quickly gave way to open snow plains and given the open country, Steve shook out the patrol into a different formation.

After a brief explanation, he pushed out the group into an arrow shape on the ground, with a spacing of about fifteen metres between each other. (Fig. 1)

O

O O

O O

Fig. 1

Steve stayed to the right of Amber, where he could coordinate the movements and see all his people. Li pushed out further right of him and Hex then Paulo took up the left vertice.

After what seemed like hours of moving in this formation, a short sharp whistle sounded. Turning to Steve, they all saw him frantically gesturing to get down, they obeyed instantly.

He was impressed to see the recognition of hand signals and their prompt responses.

On the Eastern flank, Li hadn't hesitated for a second when she saw his signal and had immediately dropped into the cold embrace of the snow.

The seconds ticked by of the five people lying in the snow and Amber was beginning to question why they were down, when she was assaulted by a hurricane of noise.

The Sparrow helicopter roared over the ridge nearest Li and whooshed over top. The rotor wash kicked up small blizzards of snow around them and the group remained as still as possible.

Amber quietly hoped that she had no skin exposed on her back.

Fortunately the vehicle passed right overhead and kept travelling in a Northwest direction.

Tentatively the group got up to a knee as the chopper faded into a speck. Hex continued watching it, as it switched direction in midair before cutting away at a right angle in the distance.

"They are looking for something." He decided, as the distant rig completed a square.

"Or someone." Steve amended darkly.

"We should keep moving." Paulo suggested, spooked by its sudden appearance.

* * *

><p>It was not long however, before they ran into more problems.<p>

As they got higher into the hills, the snow got thicker.

Amber was forced to stop as she stepped into a snow bank and sunk to her waist.

Deathly cold drills of ice began to creep through her waterproof pants, as she waited for Hex to catch up.

Noticing her distress, from a firm footing the hacker reached out for her arms and bodily pulled her out onto the shallower snow. She almost smiled, at one of the benefits of having such a large strong boyfriend. Almost, perhaps she would have if she weren't now chilled to the core and wet.

"The snow is getting deeper," Paulo observed, taking in the sizeable hole that Amber had inhabited.

"Yeah no kidding," Amber shivered sarcastically, sending him her patented death stare. It lost some of its effect due to her chattering teeth.

She huddled into Hex for warmth while they waited for Li and Steve to catch up.

The seasoned veteran saw the problem at once and nodded like it was obstacle he had anticipated. Without another word he drew a large notched knife from a downward facing sheath on odd bulky vest he was wearing.

It was the first time that Hex had gotten a proper look at the piece of clothing. It was a sleeveless shirt made of a strong mesh, it was covered in pouches and small pockets of various, sizes, shapes and accessibility.

_It was a combat harness, _He suddenly identified. A soldiers best friend; the rig was a handy load bearing device that was used to help them carry and have quick access to the tools of their trade. Pockets on it bulged with different military items and he couldn't help but think that the knife wasn't the last of the secrets it contained. The narrow empty pockets, held closed by elastic bands at least reassured Hex that he wasn't carrying any ammunition.

Paulo and Li were too preoccupied by the knife he held. It was a simple single piece of steel, the blade alone measuring over six inches in length. It was this blade that caught their attention; it was tanto style, straight and broad with a single sided blade until it sharpened to a sloped edge at the tip. The bottom half of the blade was taken up by a set of cruel serrated teeth. Overall it was a well-worn blade, with nicks and small chips in its black glaze.

Noticing the quick draw and smooth action of the blade being drawn, it was obvious to Li what the blades usual purpose was for.

_How many lives have ended at the point of that knife? _She wondered morbidly, reminding herself once more that the man in front of her had been an elite killer for the country.

His cool eyes still held that dangerous awareness to them.

This time however, he had not drawn the knife to slit throats for the queen, instead he loped off a nearby, low sapling with a single swipe.

Amber watched in curiosity as he bent the young branch until it was shaped like a teardrop, the interior of it largely filled in by smaller off-shooting branches. He drew a length of thin parachute-chord from one of his many pockets and tied the two ends together. He finally put on an extra lashing or two across the centre before throwing the bent stick on the ground. The shape seemed vaguely familiar to Amber, just like a.

"Snowshoes." She blurted out as he stepped onto the improvised accessory.

Steve crouched to bind it to his boot, before looking up with a broad grin.

"Correct Amber, now everyone make a pair." He encouraged and started cutting lengths of parachord for them.

* * *

><p>Five minutes later the group was moving up into the hills again, this time with flat bent branches to disperse their weight across the deep snow.<p>

"Why didn't we just bring our own?" Amber felt compelled to ask the soldier, who now led the way in their single file ascent.

"One more thing to carry isn't it? Besides they are quick and easy enough to make." Steve reasoned, as if it was obvious.

"Try and stick to the path from the person in front of you." He added over his shoulder to the group in a quiet voice.

"It leaves less of a trail and is easier because the snow there is more compacted." The warrior explained, knowing they would ask him if he didn't.

_Always thinking tactically, _Paulo noted with a teeth-clattering smile.

Seeing as the silence was broken, Amber had another question.

"So Steve what makes you think Alex is up here?" She asked carefully.

The aged trooper paused over the question for a minute as if debating whether to answer. For a moment only the muted sluice of trodden snow was audible. His grey eyes seemed to reflect the bleak landscape around them as he constructed his answer.

"When he was younger we used to come up to our small cabin on the hill here for vacation." He explained.

"It was always an adventure getting to and from the spot and we lived pretty rough when we got there." Steve elaborated, his gaze trailing the hillside, caressing a path well worn into his mind.

"Alex loved it here, it was his home away from home. So when you asked where he was, I had an immediate feeling he would be here."

"You had a feeling?" Hex confirmed in disbelief and scepticism. "We are climbing a small mountain in Canada because of your feeling?"

"I did and we are," Steve replied firmly. "As a soldier you learn to follow your instinct; it picks up the little things better then the conscious mind. You grow to act first and question yourself later."

Hex struggled a little bit with the general concept, as a guy who preferred to base his judgement on observations that could be calculated.

Li and Paulo however, were more familiar with the concept being acclimatised to the presence of danger; as a fighter and a paramedic respectively.

* * *

><p>"How much further is this cabin?" Paulo enquired, his greater bulk leaving deeper trails and therefore requiring more energy.<p>

"Another half an hour perhaps?" Steve guessed looking at the flattening terrain and surrounding coniferous forest of trees. They had finally broken the back of the mighty hill and reached a forest on a plateau.

Paulo paused to look down and see how much ground they had covered up the steady slope.

From the tree line they had just reached, it seemed a long way back down. A bitter wind accosted him and he was a bout to turn and continue on into the trees, when he saw it.

"Get to the trees," He hissed in warning.

Far below them, a grey all terrain vehicle was gunning its way up the slope.

Curiously, instead of wheels it had four sets of rounded, triangular tracks set into the space where the wheels should sit.

From a huddled position behind a thick tree, Li watched as the vehicle rapidly approached the plateau. The group ducked low around the snow surrounding the base of the trees, their colouration quickly rendering them invisible.

Amber tried to slow her breathing, sure that this new enemy could see the steam from her breath. Her white balaclava suddenly felt a little too warm.

_The helicopter must have been doing reconnaissance;_ Hex decided grimly,_ this is the assault team._

Fifty metres from the edge of the trees, the vehicle stopped its tracks spinning ineffectively in the deepening snow, unable to find a purchase.

After a couple of minutes of revving, the motor switched off. Six men piled out in full snow camouflage.

They moved awkwardly and seemed over bulky in appearance. That was not the only anomaly in their movement either.

After checking their vehicle, one man took charge and pointed in two directions. With that the four of the men reached to their backs to unsling their weapons.

* * *

><p>Li gasped at the arsenal they were packing. These guys came prepared. Three came with shortened barrelled, assault rifles. The cut down length making them quicker to draw and turn within close confines.<p>

The fourth, a massive man, carried a black evil looking machine gun like it was a regular rifle. The bipod on the weapon was up for ease of carry and the sling had not been attached, obviously deemed unnecessary. A canvas bag hung underneath, housing the belt of deadly ammunition.

The fifth man was apparently the driver and carried only a submachine gun.

Ominously, all the small arms were sprayed in the same cold artic camouflage.

The four heavily armed individuals started bracing their way up towards the trees, their progress made difficult by the deep snow. Their driver morosely got out a shovel and worked to free their entrenched ride.

Their leader followed them more slowly, speaking into a radio and unslinging a long barrelled sniper rifle.

_If Alex is here, he had a whole lot of trouble coming his way._

Steve cursed softly as the group entered the trees, some one hundred and fifty metres to the right of the friends.

"We don't have much time," he whispered to his gathered shadows.

"Get to the cabin, its straight through on the other side of these trees. Those guys are moving off course so you should beat them there." He instructed, indicating the direction to go in.

"What are you going to do Steve?" Paulo asked in concern.

The older warrior had suddenly become enveloped in a dangerous aura, possessed by a violent ghost.

"What I do best." He replied coldly, unsheathing his knife once more and stepping silently off into the woods.


	12. Chapter 12

Alpha Force didn't need telling twice, they started hustling through the trees towards the cabin.

"We should be helping Steve." Amber panted, as they pushed on as fast as they could.

"He knows what he is doing Amber," Hex replied between breaths. "We'd just get in his way."

Amber was apprehensive about leaving Alex's dad to stop five gunmen, but she held her silence.

"Look!" Paulo pointed to the clearing ahead, where a small log cabin sat. To their immediate front was the door and the other side concealed a row of windows that exposed the kitchen. Smoke escaped the chimney in a narrow stream.

The team untied their modified snowshoes and placed them under the top cover of their packs before continuing.

A stout pine door held the entrance to the cabin.

Amber paused for a moment at the door, almost afraid to open it. Then she remembered the gunmen and pushed the door open. Her friends piled in through the door, stumbling across the threshold together in their haste to get inside.

They immediately saw the figure crouched by the fire, feeding another log into the hearth. Above the fire hung a billycan of water, coming to the boil. The interior of the cabin was plain, but homely, with the skins and pelts from various animals decorating the floors and walls.

The crouched figure stood in a hurry and spun on the spot at the sudden intrusion.

"Alex?" Paulo asked in amazement of the man who stood before them.

It was like their friend but only in subtle ways.

This man's hair was long, down to his shoulders and sunbleached into roughly the colour of sand. Most of his face was obscured in a fine dark blonde beard, a couple of inches long. It was more of a light brown really, with the occasional interspersing patch of gold to remind them of what its original colour was.

His eyes however were the giveaway; such shallow, frosty blue that they appeared grey. They mirrored the ice in the windowsills exactly. Eyes that he shared with his father. Eyes that barely concealed a deep sadness and regret, which was diluted with surprise at the old friends standing before him.

"Guys?" He hoarsely whispered in disbelief, his voice sounded like it hadn't been used in a long time.

A slow smile grew on Alex's face until it seemed to shine through his cloudy beard. His four best friends in the world echoed his happy expression.

And that was when the building was engulfed with automatic gunfire.

* * *

><p>A freshly reunited Alpha Force dived to the ground, desperately forming to the floor to avoid the deadly barrage. Hundreds of rounds sprayed the small cabin, entering through the window side and reducing the panes of glass into so much sharp debris. A cloud of sawdust clouded the cabin, as it was peppered with holes and the large bullets shredded the wooden structure.<p>

The noise was truly deafening, as multiple firers hammered rounds down onto the house. Alpha Force was pinned down, unable to leave the floor in fear of receiving a bullet in the head.

Braced against the low cupboards of the kitchen, the first four members were rained upon by chips of wood and broken glass from the penetrating bullets. The kitchen counter above their head, split under the weight of fire that made it through the walls and small pieces skipped off through the air from the impacts.

"What is going on?" Alex yelled at his friends over the racket from his position by the fireplace.

With a quick glance towards him, Hex saw that there was a back door right beside Alex. _Maybe we can escape out that way,_ he considered over the chaos.

"Dunno, people trying to kill us, the usual." Amber cried, with an added unsaid tone of 'Duh' to her voice.

Alex pondered on this for a second with his shaggy head cradled in his arms.

"Why? What have we done now?" He hollered at his friends in the run-on kitchen.

The roar of gunfire drowned out all other noise now and he had to make do with a shrug from Paulo.

All of a sudden the back door exploded inwards on its hinges, a soldier in white camo burst in through the entrance, his rifle raised. He hesitated for a moment where he stood, closest to Alex at the far end of the cabin. The extra array of targets in front of him giving him a second's pause, as he scanned for his intended objective. Swinging his rifle down and to the left, he finally saw the blonde haired man he was sent for.

His finger tightened around the trigger, but Alex was already attacking. Too far to physically get at the killer in white; he instead threw the nearest thing he could find. With an abrupt splash, he flung the pot full of boiling water in the soldiers face.

The professional recoiled backwards from the scalding assault, his whole face and neck ablaze with pain even through his pale balaclava. A scream of unbelievable agony escaped his blistered lips, as the exposed skin was scarred a dark red and already began to distort from the heat. He tore frantically at his ski mask trying to remove the painful article of clothing that was now horrendously, sticking to his scorched skin.

All thought of shooting was forgotten in his world of terrible burning.

His terrifyingly maimed face was wretchedly revealed, as his bare nails scraped fabric from flesh and tore the mask off. It was like something out of a horror movie, red and raw, with large fluid-filled bubbles forming out of the damaged flesh. All his features had begun to swell from the heat and the repulsive sight was compounded by his twisted expression of pain.

A split second after the first soldier entered, a similar soldier burst in through the other door. Unlike his disabled counterpart, this soldier's clothes were already covered in blood, a scarlet patch soaked one whole shoulder and arm as well as his weapon. Also unlike his ailing partner, he didn't hesitate at all.

Taking in the scene with cold calculating eyes, his raised weapon drew a bead and he unleashed a short burst of automatic fire.

* * *

><p>Alpha Force cowered at the gunfire in such close proximity and almost missed the lifeless body drop. Three rounds collected the ailing burnt soldier in the chest, destroying his balance and most of his ribcage, in a disgusting explosion of flesh. The force of fire threw him back into the open doorway, for his blood to pool in the melting snow like the worlds most gruesome slushy.<p>

Alex turned his attention back to the shooter and saw him lower his rifle, take a knee and pull back his mask.

To his amazement he found the aged face of his father inhabiting the mantle of the snowbound killer.

The blood on his arm didn't appear to be his own and provided the others with a clue to the whereabouts of at least one of the intruders. The commandeered rifle was also a strong indicator that he had met up with one of the invading party.

"Dad!" Alex cried in recognition and joy.

"It's good to see you again son." Steve rejoiced with the first genuine smile he had given in a long time.

It flashed in place for a second, before he turned serious again.

"Paulo, Li put your balaclavas on and get back to that ATV, secure that for our escape." Steve ordered, ushering them out the back door, out of line of the machine gun.

He turned to Hex, "How's your throwing arm?" He asked over the renewed suppressing fire.

The hacker looked at his weak right, "maybe Amber is better for that." He shamefully admitted.

The gun finally eased firing, thinking the assault was finished.

"Here then," Steve said, drawing a small object from his webbing and throwing it to Amber. "Just like the movies, pull the pin and throw it hard at the bad guys."

Amber looked down at the round grenade in her gloved hand; it fit perfectly in the palm. She felt physically ill looking at the heavy, death-dealing device.

"This is uh.." She started.

"Smoke grenade." Steve assured her, dropping his mask down once more.

Amber looked at the device again, unsure, nervous.

"When I stand up and distract him, you throw it right at the machine gun okay? It will be somewhere on that tree line." The trooper indicated to her.

Amber nodded apprehensively, not wanting to let down the soldier.

His fingers mimed 1,2,3, before standing up and pointing into the house.

"Clear," He informed the machine gun, which sunk on its stock as the operator visibly relaxed.

At that moment Amber pulled the pin on her grenade and hurled it at the gun emplacement.

* * *

><p>The A &amp; B gunners' eyes went wide as an unwelcome guest suddenly inhabited their overwatch. To Amber's surprise, their gun post exploded with a loud bang and a puff of snow, as thousands of deadly metal shards erupted from the fragmentation grenade.<p>

She whirled angrily on the SAS trooper.

"That wasn't smoke!" She accused in outrage, her revelation somewhat unnecessary given the pulpy state she had reduced the machine gun team to. Her mind reeled at the two gruesome deaths she had just caused.

Steve turned on her with icy eyes that showed no remorse.

"Would you still have thrown it if you'd known that?" He callously suggested.

Amber couldn't respond, she was still devastated by the deceit. Or was it because of the question that she didn't have an answer to.

_Would I? _She asked herself, _did I even believe it was a smoke grenade in the first place or did I just use his assurances to allow me to throw it without guilt?_

Hex noticed a small circle of light shining in the snow, as he moved forward to rescue his girlfriend from herself.

His powerful mind did turns trying to figure it out and in the meantime he acted on instinct. He tackled Amber to the ground just as a heavy crack rang out, splitting the air.

"Sniper!" He yelled in realisation, kicking himself for forgetting about the fifth invader.

Steve ducked behind the counter, knowing he had blown his cover with his treachery against the machine gun.

"Alex, do you still have the M-21?" He yelled to his son taking refuge in the doorway.

Alex nodded and rapidly leopard crawled from the room.

"Where is he Hex?" Amber queried in her huddle under his arm.

Hex moved slowly to a large bullet hole in the wall and double-checked where he had seen the scope flash.

"Hasn't moved. Fifty metres half-right of the gun and another fifty or so back." He decided, giving his target indication.

Alex crawled back in with a long odd shaped bag slung over his back.

* * *

><p>Coming to a stop by his friends behind the counter, he undid the zip and removed a long black and brown rifle.<p>

It was simple in its design, a basic M-14 assault rifle that had been converted to a marksman weapon by adding an adjustable ranging scope onto the top and filling it with match grade ammunition. What was an already effective infantry weapon from Vietnam was changed into a highly reliable sniper rifle with just the small additions. While outdated and outstripped by many modern marksman rifles, it was still a very respectable piece of equipment in the right hands and it had a reputation for being extremely hardwearing.

The thousands of rotting Vietcong in a far away jungle were testimony.

Accordingly, Steve had coveted one of the proven weapons for hunting larger Canadian game and the most dangerous animal of all, if it came to that. The twenty round, 7.62mm magazine contained twenty armour-piercing rounds, as a consideration for the second kind of prey.

Alex's familiar hands held the weapon with reverence, as he slotted in the short magazine into place. Quickly and competently he cocked the weapon and confirmed the round sliding into the chamber.

Amber could tell this rifle was part of Miller history and a weapon that Alex was very much used to, whether that was a recent development she did not know.

Alex double-checked the safety and was about to chuck it to his father, when he caught the man's shaking head.

"No. You have to take the shot." Steve insisted, a mixture of emotion held back in his eyes.

Alex blanched at the idea, "No way, you are one of the best shots in the regiment. I can't do this."

"Yes you can." Steve assured him, stretching in cover to lug a hand on his shoulder.

_Seems an awful inopportune time for a dad to give his son a first go at something, _Amber thought cynically, still huffy with Steve over the grenade trick.

Alex finally seemed to accept the role thrust upon him and started looking for a good position.

"Good boy," Steve encouraged him, "Find a decent place where you can see him, use Hex as a spotter."

Alex looked until he found a good vantage point, about two feet up the wall where several bullets had impacted. They had created a hole just large enough for his barrel and sights; the opening was no larger then a hand held vertical.

Awkwardly he braced at a knee with the rifle.

"Try sitting," His dad recommended quietly, "With your legs bent and feet against the wall. Brace your arms off the wall or the inside of your knees."

His son heeded the advice and changed into a much more comfortable and stable shooting platform.

Hex talked softly in his ear, describing the location until Alex had it scoped. He still couldn't see the sniper though.

"I'm looking in the right place, but I can't see him." He admitted in defeat, his one open eye glaring down the scope.

_Maybe Hex should do this instead_, he thought despondently.

"Now we just need to make him move for you, keep watching son." Steve instructed, before poking his own rifle over the counter and squeezing off an extended rip of fire in the snipers general direction.

Through his telescopic sight Alex saw movement, the snow seemed to round into the outline of a body and the stick of a poised rifle.

"Got him? Good, I'm going to give him a target, as soon as he fires, you nail him okay? The soldier explained to his student.

"Roger that." Alex breathspoke, taking in a lungful of air and lowering his aim picture slightly. He removed the safety.

A few metres away Steve had dragged over the first dead assault member and was holding him up by his shoulders. Seemingly immune to the grossly disfigured face he kept aloft, the trooper slowly raised the corpse so that his head was slightly in view.

Peeking with a deadman.

Alex breathed out slowly, his crosshair now falling on the enemy sniper.

_This is it._


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N- **Another chapter for you all and a reminder to check out the special extra chapter I recently attached to the end of both **Ransom **and **Aid Conflict, **if you haven't already.

On a related note, my first original short story is finished and posted on the sister site _Fictionpress _under the same Author name. I'll admit it is a little bit different to my usual writing, but there anyway if you want to peruse it. Up to you..

**-Grey.**

* * *

><p>Two air-shattering bangs split the cold air, impossibly loud.<p>

Steve now held a corpse with half its head, gruesomely missing and out in the snow a rifle lay abandoned.

Through his final glimpse down the scope, Alex saw the spreading crimson pool as the enemy sniper lay exsanguinating. The cold breeze rustled the exposed, ragged strips of flesh, which was all that remained of his neck.

He felt shocked at how easy it had been, just like the hunting he had been doing for the last year. The wilderness had simplified things for him down to eat or be eaten, prey or predator. Sometimes he needed to kill to survive, it was no different to him then if he had shot a bear or moose out of self preservation.

He felt no remorse that it was a human this time that had fallen by his hand.

"Good shot boy." Was all Steve said in congratulations, before finally taking the chance to pull his son into a hug.

Alex embraced his father firmly and took solace in the comfort of another human for the first time in over a year.

The thumping pitch of helicopter blades broke up the tender family reunion.

* * *

><p>Dashing through the snow, Li and Paulo determinedly made their way towards the ATV.<p>

Behind them, gunfire pounded their friend's location. The gaseous crack of multiple gunshots tore through the peaceful hills, the light breeze permeated by the smell of gunpowder.

Paulo glanced over his shoulder in concern while they moved, his distraction meaning he almost ran head on into Li, who had stopped.

He quickly recovered and they crouched down in the covering shadows of the trees, as the ATV came into view.

Sitting on the bumper smoking was the driver. The vehicle dug out and turned around, he now waited for his comrades. A pistol was slung menacingly across his chest in a large holster.

Paulo turned to Li with his mischievous trademark grin.

"How's your throwing arm?"

* * *

><p>Leaning against the car, the driver cursed quietly at the cold. Snow had infiltrated his boots and now his socks were wet; the bane of a soldier's existence. Moodily he went to take another drag on his cigarette.<p>

An explosion of ice and snow slushed into his face with a slap, extinguishing his small comfort. He spluttered freezing cold water and spat out the sodden nicotine. Furious, he looked around for the source of the cold assault.

A second snowball slammed into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him with its force. If he was angry before, now he was well and truly pissed off.

He finally caught sight of the offender, a slight young woman with dark hair that stood out against the snow. _The missing prisoner_, the driver realised, his team had been informed that the other targets might turn up in the surrounding area.

Knowing the value of his prize, the man started up the slope towards her, his hand straying to the holster, as another snowball careened past him. The valuable girl turned tail for the trees and the hunter quickened his pace. Finally reaching the tree line he looked around carefully for the girl. Only to smashed in the face, yet again by another pesky snowball.

He spat madly and tried to clear the stinging ice out of his eyes, which was probably why he didn't notice snow bulge and grow behind him. The Argentinean ascended out of the white and loomed over the blinded driver, like the abominable snowman. Just as the baddie had cleared his face, he was pummelled in the side of the head. A combination of snow, hair and teeth flew from the victim's head, accompanied by a good amount of blood.

Paulo did a quick test for consciousness on his fallen foe, finding himself completely unaffected by the spreading gore around the downed man's head. It was just another patient to him, albeit this time, one he was not going to help. He dropped the large gory branch he had used for a club, beside the now prone form.

Li emerged from the nearby trees, a smile brightening her pretty face. It had been a rather clever plan that Paulo had hatched actually.

"He is out cold." Paulo quipped, trying to keep a straight face at the clichéd pun.

Li rolled her eyes affectionately, the guys watched far too many bad action movies in their down time. "That was just terrible." She judged him, walking off to the ATV shaking her head.

Paulo was unperturbed and kept his grin at the chance of using the line. Silently he reached over and relieved the still body of its pistol holster.

* * *

><p>Hex looked out what was left of the window, at the chopping blades hovered over the house.<p>

"This helicopter is a lot bigger then the last." Amber commented following his gaze.

Alex returned from his room with a bag, the M-21 was slung over his shoulder. He seemed a different man; the endangerment of his life had chased the dull glaze from his eyes. With a proper view of the helicopter he recognised it as a Griffon; the multipurpose Canadian variant of the Huey.

"Oh shit, it's reinforcements." Hex realised, as he saw a black rope whip down from the chopper to lash the ground, it danced wildly in the strong rotor wash.

"Head down the mountain," Steve called out for Alex's benefit, as they ran for the trees. He turned on his heel as the tail-end-Charlie, to fire an extended burst from his assault rifle at the chopper. Reloading on the run he followed the friends through the trees.

Snow caught them at about knee height, but they trudged on in their hurry to escape.

The yells of men behind them could be heard as the first boots touched down on the snow. This was closely followed by the first wave of the bullets, tearing into the trees and severing branch and bark in pursuit of flesh.

Pine needles rained and puffs of snow spouted around them from gunfire, as the edge of the trees came into sight.

Steve didn't break stride as he ripped out another grenade and threw it into the trees behind them, while the others slid and stumbled towards the ATV.

Li and Paulo were already there and had the engine running, they frantically waved their friends on.

Alex was at the front, used to moving through the deep snow on a daily basis to hunt or forage for food and fuel. His long legs pumped him along, taking the snow in bounding leaps. The constant hardness of day-to-day life in the inhospitable landscape had helped him quickly regain the fitness, which had deserted him when he was recovering from his injuries.

Trailing behind him, Hex and Amber ran together, hand-in-hand through the snow. Hex at the front practically towing the smaller girl along in his wake.

Steve finished off another magazine brutally into the trees, when his leg buckled in pain and a sudden smatter of blood.

"Steve!" Paulo cried in shock across the clearing, as he saw the man stumble. The snow around the wounded soldier was steadily growing a bright red.

"Dad!" Alex yelled, turning where he was, almost at the vehicle. The fear on his face at the prospect of losing his father was enormous.

* * *

><p>With surprising strength, Amber pulled back on Hex's arm, stopping him in his tracks.<p>

He turned at the sudden resistance to find her desperately tugging him back towards the wounded man. Hex was rooted to the spot and several impulses fought inside of him.

As always, he immediately discarded the shrunken prospect of self-preservation, since he had joined Alpha Force this impulse had steadily reduced, as several things became more important to him then his own continued existence.

The next instinct of preservation was much stronger and providing him with far greater resistance. It dictated that he pull harder with his joined hand, to continue pulling Amber to safety and forget about Steve. Guilt made its heavy presence felt even at the idea, while the rationale side of his brain headed into problem solving mode, frantically searching for a better solution.

Noticing his moment of hesitation, Amber turned to meet his eyes.

"Please Hex, I can't do it alone?" She huffed, her face pleading.

Her insistence caved him and cemented a course of action in his mind; he followed her hand and together they backtracked to the wounded soldier.

The injured veteran was crouched in a growing slush of blood; his pale face contorted with pain, as he determinedly stuffed another magazine into his rifle with sticky hands. Amber looked down and spotted the perpetrator; a ragged bullet wound in his lower leg that was bleeding steadily. With a grunt, Steve raised his weapon again, gritted his teeth with the effort and returned fire.

Hot lead smacked into the crimson snow around them, as Hex danced around to the side of the man to hook an arm under his armpit, Amber did the same on the other side.

Facing the opposite direction to their patient, they started to drag.

"Leave me, save yourselves." Steve growled angrily, a scary guttural sound. His own shots seemed to carry the same fury, as they peppered the ridgeline, keeping the attacking force's heads down.

"Can't," Amber puffed under the weight of the well-built man, "your son still needs you."

They buddy dragged the heavy man as fast as they could, while a paling Steve resolutely provided suppressing fire from his backwards facing direction. Amber panted and seemed to sink lower in Hex's vision with each laboured pace.

"Come on Babe, keep it up." He encouraged her between breaths, knowing the massive strain she was under. Pet names like 'honey' or 'sweety' had been ruled out early in the relationship, due to the fine line she walked with her blood-sugar.

With his support, she found some greater reserve of energy to draw on and their pace held.

* * *

><p>By this time men were carefully starting to break the tree line, some three hundred metres back up the hill.<p>

Paulo jumped from the cab to help with the wounded, leaving Li to drive.

Alex was still frozen to the spot watching, as Hex and Amber grew slowly closer. Paulo bustled past him to help the retrieval team and a familiar hard feeling enclosed Alex again, as he realised what he could do to help.

Unslinging the rifle from his back, he braced down to one knee and drew a bead on the forerunning trooper.

Clearing his mind and focusing on a smooth trigger pull, he squeezed of a round.

The loud bang drowned out the distant crackle of smaller arms and subsequently jolted Alex's shoulder back in recoil. Dull pain barely registered in his ears at the deafening volume of expulsion.

Instead he watched as the lead man dropped with a red mist escaping through his back. The round landed high on centre of mass, just above the ceramic plate of body armour and made short work of the remaining Kevlar. The specialised 7.62mm rounds were specially designed to cut through this sort of armour, although it had also been put to good work against the local elk and moose to good effect too.

Having to hunt for his food had steadied Alex's hand and sharpened his eyes, now it was being put to deadly use.

Paulo reached the manhandled patient and swapped out Amber from under his arm. Looking beyond the pair, he could see their path from the thick trail of blood they had left behind. Refocussing on evacuation, he helped Hex and between the two larger boys, they got the wounded soldier to the vehicle. The thunder of Alex's marksman weapon provided them with an effective force multiplier and a point of distraction against their advancing opposition.

An exhausted Amber followed on after them and stumbled up to the nearby crouched Alex. She waited until he had loosed off another shot before tapping him on the shoulder. It was the same hard-eyed Alex, who slung his rifle to follow her back to the ATV. He didn't wait to watch his last target fall.

All the while, lead fell about them, snapping and whizzing with its proximity, the occasional round skipping off the vehicle.

* * *

><p>Li churned ice and snow and she tore the vehicle off down the slope, gunfire quickly fell short of the mark.<p>

In the back, Paulo struggled with a bandage from the first aid kit. Beside him, Alex had come back to normal and was desperately trying to hold in his dad's life, with direct pressure to the wound site on the lower leg.

Behind them, Amber was dozing exhausted against Hex's shoulder. He was the gear guy, passing Paulo and Alex whatever they needed and stowing the cumbersome collection of firearms.

Paulo had exposed the small entry and larger, ragged exit wounds and was twisting his crepe bandage as he rolled it over top the gauze dressing. This increased the direct pressure applied to the wound and helped decrease the bleeding. The gauze supplied a surface for the blood platelets to adhere to, speeding up the clotting cascade.

Blood seeped through from the exit wound side however and Paulo eagerly accepted the offered Israeli field-dressing from the backseat. Paulo grinned grimly in satisfaction at the superior medical supply. With deft hands he applied the advanced dressing, drawing on the tension handle to tighten it, and taking only half the time it took for the other makeshift bandage.

He sat back to admire his work and note with relief that there was no longer blood leaking through the bandages. He wiped his sweaty brow, inadvertently streaking it with a long, red smear.

"Hey dad, you still with us?" Alex asked, concerned about his father, who's colour was beginning to resemble the surrounding landscape.

"Hey Ugly, yeah I'm still here." Steve reassured him weakly through barely open eyes.

"Just feeling a bit tired that is all." He explained, closing his eyes again with a thin smile.

Paulo frowned at the signs of shock and remembering his last patient, started trying to find something else he could do.

"Alex, lie him down flat and elevate his legs." Paulo ordered the bearded boy beside him, before turning to face the rear.

"Hex, are there any more medical supplies in the kit back there?"

Hex broke away from Amber to check.

"Some tubes, needles, water and stuff." He replied in confusion, passing over the remains of the stripped and jumbled trauma kit.

Paulo's heart leapt.

_There might be something more I can do after all. _He thought excitedly.

Suddenly the back window shattered in and metal cursed against metal, an ominous shadow returned. The friends ducked low in their seats to avoid the spray of broken safety glass.

"The chopper is back!" Li screamed from the front.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N- **Apologies for the delay, hopefully more regular updates in the future. This chapter is for those of you finishing up your study for the semester; good luck!

**-Grey.**

* * *

><p>"Goddamn!" Hex cursed, as he pushed Amber lower in the seat.<p>

"Shoot the bloody thing." Alex cried in determination, reaching across to draw the pistol from Paulo's holster.

"Small arms fire can bring down an unarmoured helicopter." He informed the others, as he leaned out the window and started firing rounds at the helio one hundred metres behind them.

The pistol soon clicked dry, its slide lodged back in the empty position and he ducked back into the vehicle.

Hex returned from over the back with Steve's assault rifle, a short-barrelled G36.

Clearing away the remaining glass, He leaned out as Alex had done. The weapon kicked in his hand with each shot, but he saw sparks lick the bottom of the helicopter.

The chopper swung in midair to bring the door-gunner around to face, who opened fire once more with his own rifle. Hex was forced back inside under the face of fire and was passed the last rifle magazine from Steve's combat webbing.

The thin metal of the car was torn open by the gunfire and rounds freely passed through the car. Keeping low, Amber worked to barricade the walls with anything they could find that might reduce the velocity of the deadly rain. Frantically she stuffed rucksacks, seat-cushions and toolkits against the thin exterior walls to try and provide some minor protection.

It took Hex a few moments to work out how to eject the empty mag and insert the new one. He was about to lean out the window again when Alex stopped him.

"Cock it." He instructed, yelling over the gunfire and pointing to the cocking lever, on top of the receiver.

Hex gripped the small handle with his strong left, pulled it back and released it with a satisfying cliclack. Above him, their was a pause in the gunfire while the gunner above them went through the same routine to renew his available supply of death.

Hex propped himself against the shattered frame of the window, ignoring the shards of safety glass digging into his numb right wrist. Despite the bumping and swerving of the journey, he was now able to keep the weapon pointed at the chopper more steadily.

He then proceeded to open fire on the chopper once more; it only took about three seconds of sustained fire to empty the weapon once more.

It must have hit something important though.

Oily smoke billowed from holes in the side of helicopter and the windscreen was covered in welts.

Smoking and swaying drunkenly across the sky, the bird began to lose altitude. It rapidly careened to the right suddenly and met a tall tree at high speed.

The whole body of the vehicle folded in half around the solid trunk, crunched together like a trodden on, empty can of coke. In a shattered, flaming mess, the wreckage spilled from the tree, dragging its doomed crew down with it.

"Nice shooting." Amber mumbled sleepily, running a hand down her partners shoulder.

* * *

><p>The ATVs steady path was beginning to slur as it slalomed from side to side, losing traction.<p>

"Li, can you hold her steady?"

Paulo begged from the back, as he secured the cannula he had just placed. Given the turbulent conditions, he used huge amounts of medical tape to strap it down. Grant's words flashed in his mind; _you can never use too much tape._

"Sorry we took some serious damage in the gunfire." Li yelled back in way of apology, while she wrestled with the steering wheel.

Beside Paulo, Alex fought to keep his fathers arm still while the medic finished his work.

"Nifty little skill you've got there." He commented, nodding at the intravenous access. Alex's thoughts returned to his own traumatic experience with bloodloss.

"Well not all of us were hiding in remote cabins for the past year." Paulo joked, instantly regretting it and wondering if he had overstepped the mark.

His friends face however, broke in a bearded grin. Still tinged with shame and sadness, he couldn't help smile at his perpetually upbeat friend.

* * *

><p>Behind them, Amber had snuggled back into Hex and the two were intertwined in a lazy cuddle.<p>

"When did you last eat?" Hex accosted her, in a worn out voice.

Amber shrugged and opened her eyes, "Meh a while ago, when did we put on the snowshoes?"

Alarm bells rang in Hex's head and grudgingly forced him to open his eyes. "You have to eat something now then," he ordered quietly.

Amber sighed deeply and reluctantly opened her eyes again too. She looked up longingly at her boyfriend and opened her mouth wide.

"Fine, but you have to feed me then," she demanded mellowly, with a petulant grin.

Earlier in their relationship Hex had learnt when it was worth arguing and when it was not. This was one of the latter times.

Accordingly he unwrapped a snack bar, broke off a piece and gently placed it in her mouth. His mouth curled at the corners watching her try and get her lips around the overly large piece he had given her. Amber's dark eyes sent him resentment at the trick, but quickly relented at the funny side of the situation.

Regaining her dignity by slowly working away at the piece, she managed to swallow smaller pieces of the food and was able to chew it properly. Amber chewed thoughtfully for a while, as they lumbered down the petering slope.

"Ah blessed silence." Paulo rejoiced jovially at the expense of his preoccupied friend.

Feeling a bit more awake after her snack, she pulled her tired partner's head down against her chest and instead took care of him for a while. The spent hacker contently shut his eyes once more and relaxed into her. His still warm rifle lay abandoned at their feet.

Reclusive, hardened and slightly overprotective as he was, she knew she was pretty lucky to have him. Admittedly the first year together had been a period of adjustment. Quiet by nature, she always had to be the one to initiate any form of serious discussion between them. He communicated a lot more freely through an electronic medium or though his actions instead.

His earlier life had been quite tough and expressing ones feelings had obviously been viewed by the local hoods as a sign of weakness. She could see that for the most part Hex had operated by keeping hard and closed off to others; a shell of indifference that provided him a defence against the predators in lower society.

Amber realised that Alpha Force had really been his saving grace, because it had started to teach him that he could trust in others and didn't have to do everything alone. Their first year together was still something of a rehabilitation period for Hex though, as he got used to a closer intimacy of living and expression.

Not that he had complained about the intimacy part.

* * *

><p>Li shakily pulled the ATV to halt at the base of the hill; they had made it to the bottom and luckily were able to stop, as their momentum died with the slope.<p>

Two of the tracks were almost completely ripped and flapped loosely in the building breeze, as the battered vehicle finally stopped moving.

Paulo left Alex to care for his father, while he went looking for his marker tree. He returned half an hour later in a huff.

"All the trees look the same." He admitted sullenly as he dug out the tents from their packs instead.

"Looks like we are staying the night." Alex murmured to himself, eyeing his exhausted friends.

His worried glance fell finally on his slumbering father, who was wrapped in a sleeping bag. A clear bag of crystalloid solution drained steadily into his arm and seemed to restore his colour a little.

The group decided to leave Steve in the ATV overnight because it would be warmer then the tent. They did however limp the vehicle into the tree cover, an added precaution in case more helicopters came past.

Paulo volunteered to stay with the patient and in doing so exempted himself from sentry duty.

* * *

><p>Hex and Amber drew first stag, despite Li's protest that they would spend the whole shift holding hands and gazing at the stars.<p>

"They are really rather pretty tonight though," Amber admitted to Hex as they headed off for the first shift. Alex and Li shared a grin as they saw the hacker's shoulders slump in defeat.

"Those two can have a tent to themselves," Li announced, throwing her kit in Alex's tent.

"I don't need a repeat of Africa," She added with a grimace.

Alex smiled, happy to share a memory with a good friend. Sadly, none of their recent memories could be completely described as pleasant.

For Solambia, Africa; it was a mission that had broken down from the start. It had left an injured, imperilled Alpha Force to salvage an adjusted mission by the skin of their teeth. Lines were crossed and the group found blood on their hands for the first real time. Injuries were aplenty and scar tissue for all involved.

The hard decisions he had made there still kept him awake at night.

New York had surprisingly been more dangerous then Africa. When someone the group took for granted was taken from them all hell broke loose. A dangerous foe was further complicated by revolution within the group, as interpersonal relationships were simultaneously developed and strained. The losses were far greater in the end this time, on both sides. The aftermath was wounds that ran deeper and scars that would take a long time to fade.

_And I walked away…_ Alex finished.

* * *

><p>His smile must have dissolved to a more haunted look, because Li stepped closer and put her hand on his shoulder.<p>

"You alright there Alex?" She asked carefully, unsure of what she had said wrong.

Alex blinked and pulled himself back up from his bleak memories.

"Fine," He answered slowly, "Just lost in thought." He explained.

With that he quietly dropped his rucksack and stepped outside. He slowly strolled over to a nearby tree and leaned against its coarse trunk.

The peaceful view of snow in the low light calmed him, it always had.

He was divided internally; a feeling he was familiar with since leaving the civilised world. All that time part of him wanted to return, apologise to his friends and go back to his family. A stronger part kept him hidden, avoiding them as a painful memory; hiding from his shame and any responsibility he had once held.

He could forget them in the solace of the wilderness, while he chopped firewood, while he hunted and trapped for food. He could pretend he knew noone and was the only man in the world when he walked the great white hills.

But there are some things a man cannot hide from.

It was the evenings when he was haunted by memory, when the fire glowed in its place and the light danced on his face. The ever-shifting flames reminded him of past fires and company he had shared around them. Voices that had been unheard for so long called to him in his sleep. His family, his friends, and his adventures; the images of them seemed to blur slightly with the passing time and neglect. The faded in his mind, but were stubborn and refused to ever truly leave him.

Deep in contemplation, time slipped past him and he almost didn't hear the figure approach.

"Were you unhappy to see us?" Li asked, strangely timid, as she came to lean up against his tree.

Alex was caught off guard by the straight up approach that she had always favoured and he had come to miss.

"Yes and No." He finally answered avoiding her curious eyes.

"Part of me wanted to hide away in that cabin, living simply off the land for years." He explained, his distant gaze seeking out his old refuge in the hills.

"But a smaller part of me knew that deep down, I was being a coward." He finished looking down in dishonour.

"To be able to admit that takes a fair bit of guts." Li pointed out softly.

"Maybe." Alex conceded, looking over at the stationary vehicle with a faint blue light on inside. The place where his father lay badly injured.

"Regardless, I know it's pretty damn good to see you guys again." He finished with a slow beardy grin.

Li put an arm over his shoulder in embrace and the pair leaned their heads back against the tree.

"What was the mark Paulo carved in his tree again?" Alex finally asked her, pointing into the sprawling branches overhead.

The slow Miller smile started spreading, as their luck appeared to have turned around.

* * *

><p>It took Alex and Li ten minutes hard shovelling to get their hidden vehicle dug out.<p>

Paulo suddenly appeared on the scene, at the sound of the engine.

"Looks like we are leaving here tonight then." He concluded sheepishly before returning to repackage his patient for the move.

It was midnight by the time Alpha Force packed up camp and loaded up the vehicle. Alex would not let anyone else take first driving shift and the others were forced to find seats elsewhere in the vehicle.

Steve was bundled up warmly and lain down across the very back row of seats. His splinted and bandaged leg was propped up by a daypack and he was on his second bag of Intravenous fluid. His colour was a bit better and he apparently slept peacefully.

In the passenger seat Hex fired up his palmtop.

"The nearest hospital is here," He pointed at a location approximately seventy kms away.

Paulo was leaned through the middle of the chairs; Amber and Li hung over the boy's chairs to see the map too.

"Is Alex's dad stable enough to get here?" Hex asked Paulo pointing to the next hospital in the south, a further fifty kms away.

Paulo frowned in consideration, "I guess, he's pretty stable at the moment, but why not the closest place?" He answered the question with another question.

"The bad guys know they injured one of us, so naturally they will check the nearest hospital." Hex reasoned.

"Shouldn't we get him help as quickly as possible though?" Amber countered, unsure whether the risk was worth it. Li seemed to nod in agreement.

The group turned to look at Alex who had remained silent the whole time.

"You expect me to make the decision don't you?" He groaned.

Scanning the faces in front of him, their silence answered that question for him.

Alex immediately wished he were back in the cabin.

_I swore I was over making the big calls, _he grated internally. Having considered the information at hand and sighing deeply, he made his choice.

"You say he is stable enough to get there Paulo? Then we run with it and go a little further to ensure everyone's safety." He quietly answered in a level voice.

He was only too acutely aware of what hung in the balance on this call.

"But." Li protested.

Alex cut her off with a hard look he must have perfected in his total isolation.

"I know Li, he's my dad. But I know if he could decide, this is where his vote would fall too." He explained heavily.

_Good job cutting off those emotions again to get the job done, _he commended himself sarcastically in his head.

He started the vehicle and the Alpha Force road trip began.


	15. Chapter 15

Not a minute had passed into the journey before Amber leaned forward in her seat to pester Alex.

"So how did you get to the cabin Alex? Tell us a story." She insisted with a pout.

Alex looked in the mirror, seeing his friends eagerly awaiting the tale. Even if he didn't feel much like telling it, he knew it would help pass the time.

"Well okay," Alex relented, "It is a story of daring adventure," he started, talking it up for the benefit of his captive audience.

_Maybe it won't be such bad fun after all_, he thought.

"Yeah yeah, quit hamming it up and tell us already." Li scolded impatiently.

"Of determination and endurance." Alex continued, winding her up further.

"Come on _hombre_." Paulo nagged, forgetting how much he liked to exaggerate a good yarn.

Alex chuckled at his friend's reactions.

"Okay, okay. Well after I left-

"An innocent, heartbroken girl at the hospital with your injured friends." Amber interjected scathingly.

Alex hesitated, not needing the barren reminder.

"You know what?" He said, changing tact completely. "Maybe it's a story for another day." He decided, grumpy at Amber for bringing that up, like he had forgotten.

"No, please Alex?" Li begged, shooting a harsh stare at Amber, who was unrepenting.

"How about you guys tell me about this mission of yours six months ago instead?" Alex retaliated, his eyes blazing in the mirror. He knew it was a bit of a low blow.

Silence filled the car and four friends awkwardly examined their feet.

"Who mentioned that to you?" Hex asked in a small voice.

Paulo looked around at his peers sheepishly, "I didn't know it was a secret or anything," He confessed. "We rescued some kids." He reminded them, as if it redeemed his decision.

Hex winced at the mere mention of the fact and seemed to sink lower in the passenger seat.

"Well I haven't heard the full story Amber, so why don't you tell it?" Alex requested, his anger giving way to curiosity.

Amber looked around at the others as if seeking their permission; she reached her hand forward to rest on her boyfriend's shoulder. Timidly she started the story.

"Okay, where to begin…."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Fade to dreamy flashback sequence. <em>****;) A/N-** Always wanted to do that!

* * *

><p><strong>6 months earlier.<strong>

**Mexico, 200km South of the US/Mexico border.**

Dressed for the dry season in plain coloured shorts, singlets and low desert boots, Hex, Amber, Li and Paulo surveyed the grubby little Mexican town. Town was somewhat of an overstatement to describe the collection of ancient buildings clustered together to form a habitation in the middle of the desert. The wide-brim hats that Paulo and Hex wore seemed very much to fit the almost western atmosphere of the place.

The town however, held a crucial clue in the puzzle the group was working to solve, the result of a weeklong search. Like the last three towns they had been through, the place was completely deserted. Unlike the others, the tyre tracks were far more recent and led off into the barren hills of Corboda.

The group followed the tracks in their open top dune buggy, until they reached the base of the hills. With the midday sun beating down overhead, the group started to make their way up the steep hills on foot, determined not to reveal their presence with the car. The sound of a blast rang out and the group dropped to the ground on the slope, forgetting their climb with the sudden noise. Further explosions shook the ground under them, but seemed to bring no further danger. Intrigued, the group slowly leopard crawled to the apex of the hill and peeked over the ledge.

They lay frozen as a group, held in amazement by the sight that presented itself. The combination of tan, ochre and brown clothes they wore meant that they blended in well against the dry desert background.

An entire opencast mine splayed out before them, a spiralling hole in the landscape hidden by the surrounding dry hills.

"A hidden mine." Li exclaimed in a surprised whisper, still unsure of its significance.

"Look." Amber pointed down into the pit. Groups of poor Mexicans in threadbare rags struggled along under the weight of mining equipment and raw ore. Their bare feet were visibly bloody and ragged even from a distance, their exhaustion plain.

_The missing populations from the surrounding towns, _Hex surmised, recognising several individuals from their distinctive descriptions. He was surprised there had been no chatter about an operation of this size online.

"But I wonder where the children are?" Paulo thought out loud, scanning the unmarked facility.

"I reckon they would have to keep them on site, in case their slaves require a little extra motivation." Amber growled, watching the guards walking lazily among the workers, cracking their whips here and there to hasten their toil.

As the group watched, one worker collapsed under his load and couldn't find the strength to get up. Instead of helping him, the supervisor viciously kicked him in an effort to rouse the tired man. When this proved fruitless, the guard continued kicking and stomping until the body bounced limply under his blows.

The cruel man yelled something in Spanish at the rest; a warning and stepped over the unnaturally splayed frame of the wasted worker.

* * *

><p>Li analysed the security force; they carried no other weapons then whips and a steel toe it seemed. Obviously the prisoners were not going anywhere and they didn't need wire or guns to keep them in.<p>

Lifting the pair of binoculars to her face she got a better view of their tool for motivation. It was a simple length of tapering leather, probably used originally for controlling cattle, but equally effective at splitting human flesh. While a good tool for punishment and intimidation it held little value when it came to effectively stopping a person. Li grinned grimly, knowing that the bite from such a weapon would surely be great, but limited in its damage.

She didn't intend to find out.

Hex eyed the larger compound suspiciously; the building was guarded by half a dozen large _muchachos _with rifles. _Definitely something of value in there, _he thought triumphantly. Given the comparison to the relatively unarmed men guarding the workers, it was obvious that this serious lot were there to keep people out of the secure building.

"Okay we need a plan." Amber announced to the group, as they crawled back from the lip of the ridge.

"I'm pretty sure I could slip into the crowd of workers unnoticed." Paulo offered.

"We've got to find the children," Li emphasised, "If they are safe then maybe the families will rise up with us."

"We definitely need to destroy this evil place." Amber whispered bitterly, her mind stuck on the dead figure and the appalling state of the workers.

"Okay and hopefully in doing so we can find out who is responsible for this." Hex concluded.

"I'll get amongst them and try to build resistance against the mine with the workers. Maybe I can find out who is in charge." Paulo decided, roughing his appearance with a handful of sand as he started crawling around the edge of the ridge. He waved his phone back at the others, signalling how he would keep in touch with the group.

Li cracked her knuckles and started camming up her face and bare arms with the light, desert colours of camouflage paint.

"I'll see what I can do about evening up the numbers for the big revolt." She declared, sliding stealthily down the sandy slope towards the rear of the nearest building.

"Li, wait." Hex called out, but she had already gone. He could only faintly pick up the outline of her movement because he knew where to look. Like a true ninja, she moved virtually unseen.

"I guess we are on finding these kids?" Amber concluded, taking the lead.

Hex felt rushed and out of control, following his girlfriend down the steep face of the canyon.

* * *

><p>There were only three real buildings in the facility; the first was a long high roofed industrial shed where the raw silver from the mine was processed by workers and outdated, unsafe machinery. The second was a two story narrow structure that looked like some sort of mining office or administration area. The third and the one of interest to Hex and Amber, was a squat solid concrete structure. It had been guarded when they first arrived, but was now devoid of any armed doormen.<p>

_Li's handiwork,_ Hex figured as he and Amber creeped their way over to the door. He didn't want to know how she had created this opening in the security for them.

Hex motioned to Amber to provide lookout and knelt to pick the old rusted lock on the external door.

Above the pair and in the building opposite, a white skinned man in a smart white collared shirt looked down upon the pair breaking and entering. He slowly raised a thin phone up to his eye and snapped off a picture of the pair. He panned through his three photos, the first of a large Latin teenager carrying a bucket and slyly engaging a slave in serious conversation. The second showed an athletic Asian girl applying a strangle hold to a surprised Mexican guard. The last was of the couple, back to back as Hex jimmied the lock.

The mysterious watcher selected the send function on his I-Phone and attached the three files as an attachment to a text message. He referenced the photo with a single word:

Troublemakers.

The message pinged away successfully and he watched as the pair made their way inside the short building opposite him. His phone buzzed as a reply came through almost immediately. With no name beside the sender, it contained a brief, shortened message:

Ths place is compromisd, u no wat to do.

The reader smiled casually at the message from his employer. He then grabbed his suitcase from under the desk and punched in a long code into the phone, from a page in his notebook.

He pressed send on his way out the door and calmly left the building.

* * *

><p>In the other building Hex and Amber slowly navigated the dank, narrow passageway. The place certainly held a prison feel to it, but after trying several doors and no hostages, their hopes were diminishing. The empty rooms they had entered appeared to be squalid living quarters, probably for the involuntary workers.<p>

Hex moved forward to try the next door and as usual found it locked, flexing the stiff fingers of his right hand, he sighed and prepared his picks once more. Amber suddenly stopped him with a gentle touch and held a cupped hand to her ear. She stepped away from the door, following a faint cry that had caught her attention.

She came to a stop in front of a door further down the hall and gestured for Hex to go to work on it.

The hacker slowly lifted the tumblers in the lock, his frustration and the ache in his wrist increasing with every passing second. He gritted his teeth in concentration, desperately willing his clumsy right hand to respond how it should. Amber nervously watched him work, the whimpers behind the door keening at the audible scratching noise he made.

"Goddamn it." Hex swore in frustration, throwing the picks to the ground suddenly after losing another tumbler to his desensitised right hand.

Amber rushed to his side; startled by the angry tears she saw threatening to fall at the edge of his eyes. She pulled him into her and held him close, stroking the back of his neck soothingly.

"Try your left," She encouraged him gently. "I know it feels slow and unnatural, but you can't give up." She implored him.

Hex refused to meet her face, feeling like less of a man, but picking up his discarded tools. He used his left hand as his master hand this time, prying and feeling while his dull right provided the firm pressure he required.

The lock finally slid and Hex slumped with relief. Amber leaned forward to give him a fortifying kiss for his persistence.

The door relented and opened to reveal two-dozen scrawny children huddled together in a large cell. The smaller ones cried despondently, the older ones looked listless, like they had already given up hope. A new lease on life was given to them all though, as they watched the door to their cell open. The new people in their doorway offered them freedom and they rushed to embrace it.

* * *

><p>Outside in the courtyard, Li wiped sweat off her brow. She was exhausted from her one-woman wrecking spree, but she was fairly certain she had incapacitated all of the armed guards. Stealth and speed provided her the advantages she had needed.<p>

The proper application of a rock to the back of an unsuspecting skull was an often-underestimated weapon. Throw into the mix a few punches to the throat, knees to the face, the occasional strangle and a small security force lay in ruins. Six armed men whose guns hadn't even been raised in the sudden onslaught that caught each of them by surprise. The desert itself had seemingly moved to take out the unsuspecting men, as their boredom and inattention became their undoing.

Catching her breath and holding her bruised flank, Li spat in the hot sand.

_Lucky shot that last guy got in, _she observed, referring to the last guard who had spun at the last second and caught her in the ribs with the butt of his rifle. It had earned him both a punch to the throat and the knee to his face.

_Wow my fitness has really dropped since I broke my leg, _She thought darkly, considering her breathless state.

Instinctively, she moved her free hand to massage her thigh and the scar tissue underneath her shorts. The knitted bone still ached and the skin felt like it was stretched too tight overtop of it.

It sure beat the months of sitting in a bed that had been required for it to heal though.

Li had made good use of this down time however, by seeking excitement and escape through reading. Her sensei upon hearing of her predicament, visited to drop off a veritable library of books on the martial arts, the way of the warrior and violence in general. Li threw herself into the books in preparation for her return back to the tatami and it was also in this time that she learnt more about the environmental movement and the plight of the planet.

Sudden movement caught Li's eye, predatorily she snapped her head up in response.

A _gringo_ in almost business attire was walking briskly towards a parked land rover.

Stealthily she followed on, sinking her toes into the soft sand first before placing her heel and moving only slightly louder then a panther. Stalking to within a metre she pounced.

"Going somewhere?" She grunted, tackling him low from behind, catching just below his knees and driving a shoulder against the bottom of his butt.

Tussling in the desert sand, Li came out on top, pinning him back down with the effective application of her weight.

The now dishevelled man strangely grinned up at her with his broken glasses askew.

"I was planning on it. Maybe you should too." He calmed replied, albeit a little short of air.

Inspecting the man, her first thought was that he wasn't much to look at. A skinny specimen, with thick glasses and the ancient scars of acne. Li thought he seemed like the stereotypical geek, like he had just emerged from his parent's basement after a particularly formal round of dungeons and dragons. Even his voice was high and nasally in a clichéd fashion. The contrast between this man and their own resident hacker was enormous.

Unnervingly, despite his appearance and predicament, the man was still confident.

"Oh really and why's that?" Li interrogated, her eyes narrowing shrewdly and her knees digging painfully into his biceps.

"Because this whole facility will explode in ten minutes." He coolly revealed with a crooked grin.

"What?" Li did a double take at his words.

"Yes you heard me correctly; it will explode and destroy all evidence of this venture." He asserted condescendingly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Li's thoughts bounced erratically between her friends, the workers and the children. She sprung from the floored man and reached into the lone vehicle, pocketing the keys in case she needed them later.

Her opponent in the meantime had quickly found his feet and was making straight for the sloping bank of the mine.

With a yell of pain he stumbled forward into the sand. Li recovered from the swift sidekick and looked down at the man. She eyed his now heavily deformed knee in satisfaction.

"Don't go too far, I'm coming back for you." She warned coldly, before running towards the crowd of workers.

"Paulo there's a bomb." She screamed at the familiar ringleader of the group.

His face seemed to lose its usual tan.

"You've got less then ten minutes." Li yelled over her shoulder as she raced to help evacuate the stricken workers.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N- **Thanks for the reviews guys, glad you people out there are still enjoying the ride and I always welcome your feedback. Loved trying out the whole flashback thing, which will conclude half way through this chapter. Enjoy.

**-Grey.**

* * *

><p>Amber's phone buzzed in her pocket.<p>

_God if that is Libby asking about our latest law assignment, I'm going to be pissed._ She thought.

The text instead caused her to squeak in horror.

"You said something?" Hex gritted sarcastically, as he struggled with the lock to the next cell.

Amber still couldn't speak from shock and instead shoved the glowing phone under his nose.

The text from Li read.

BOMB –9min GET OUT!

"Holy Shit!" He exclaimed, tearing into the lock with a new vigour.

"Hex, please hurry." Amber begged, the looming disaster already playing in her mind.

The door clicked open and Amber dived into the room, ushering children and yelling a warning in Spanish.

Hex didn't even hesitate and moved straight on to the next cell. The occupied cells were easier to find now, there locations given away by the terrified screams of the occupants.

A bead of sweat rolled down the length of his face, creating a steady drip. Counting off the seconds remaining.

* * *

><p>Outside, Paulo and Li struggled to get the tired and broken workers moving. The majority had frantically started scrambling up the slopes of the steep canyon the instant Paulo had mentioned a bomb, but many were refusing to leave without their kids. Others were simply in such bad shape they struggled on their own to escape.<p>

A sudden outburst of children out of the building, created a push of parents to leave with their children. A fair number of concerned mothers and fathers still remained though, waiting for children who had not yet appeared.

Li checked her watch, three minutes to go, _there was not enough time._

* * *

><p>Amber returned to her Hex empty handed and despondent, she had followed the last group of children outside to try and find cell keys on the disabled guards. To her despair the wounded men had disappeared, taking with them the only easy way of freeing the children.<p>

Hex had just managed to open another door and the panicked kids rushed past the pair to freedom, without so much as a glance back.

Hex turned to her and shook his head futilely. Further down the hall, the cry of frightened youngsters echoed out of several doors.

"We have to try." Amber insisted determinedly, despite her timer reading under a minute and a half to go.

Hex resolutely obeyed, once more disregarding any instinct of self preservation. His hand was stiff with the strain, his fingers scraped and bleeding, but the next door gave out quicker then the rest.

A dozen dirty, Mexican children surged out the door, sprinting for safety. The word about the bomb had spread through the cells.

Amber hurled herself at the next door, throwing her narrow shoulder against it with all her might. The ancient metal didn't so much as budge. She transitioned to tugging at the handle, wailing and kicking the immovable object like a woman possessed.

Hex bearhugged her from behind, wrapping overtop her arms as she broke down into hysterics. He turned and started running despite her protests and flailing legs.

"NO!" Amber screamed, desperately reaching out to the disappearing doorways.

"There's no time, we have to get out!" Hex growled, throwing her bodily out the door and into the fierce sunlight.

She finally complied, tears streaming down her face while she followed his insistent hand up the sandy hill. Hex snatched up a slow-moving little boy by the waistband of his shorts, as they passed him in the ascent and Amber released his hand to scoop up a struggling young girl. Their pace dying with the added load, the pair trudged to the lip of the hill and were just on its cusp when the detonation occurred.

None of them had ever seen or felt an explosion of this magnitude. It was like a volcano erupting, like the fist of god had struck the earth itself. Amber imagined that it was what the end of the world felt like.

The force of the colossal explosion was enough to throw the pair forward six metres onto the dusty sand and rock. The ground underneath them quaked from the shockwave created and they gasped for air in the wake of the pressure change. The collective group huddled together in fear as a hurricane of shrapnel blew through their midst.

Even from the edge of the pit the heat was fierce as the facility was demolished in the flames and smoke.

Dulled sound finally reached Hex's ears and he realised it was chiefly composed of muffled cries. Of pain, of grief, of terror; there was no distinguishing the cries in the aftermath of the tragedy. One person's sobs seemed especially loud to him though and he dropped to his knees to comfort the distraught Amber.

Neither could properly hear the other or the words they spoke, but the physical contact was enough.

The little girl in Amber's arms lay limp and still, a ragged wound punched straight through her tiny chest. Her blood soaked into the colourful dress she wore and had seeped through to coat Amber's cradling arms and shirt.

* * *

><p>Paulo stood in place, finally releasing the stricken father he had been restraining.<p>

Seconds before the explosion there was an exodus of parents, who tried to run back down the hill to search for their children. With only seconds before detonation, Li and Paulo had their work cut out trying to stop as many as they could, going as far as physically holding them back in some cases. The shells of these same parents now sobbed weakly in the sand, there was no need to restrain them any longer.

Paulo's hearing was relatively intact and he did the only thing he could think to do after looking around at the devastation around him.

The multiple dead and injured were way out of his league and he decided to call for help. In a semi-shell-shocked state, he pulled out his battered old Nokia and called emergency services. His voice was husky with smoke and tears, as he wandered away from the roaring flames to explain what had happened.

The very distant flashing lights of fire and ambulance were on the horizon, even before he had finished the call.

* * *

><p>Li spotted a familiar shirt almost at the top of the slope.<p>

Braving the heat and smoke she slid the few metres down the sandy bank, until she came to rest beside the man.

Looking down at him, it was apparent that he hadn't gotten far enough away before his bomb went off. Half the skin on his face was peeled and burnt, the hair all singed off that side of his head. The rest of his face was a raw shiny colour, the appearance of flashburns.

Blood was sloshing into the sand from his traumatically amputated left leg, the remains of the missing lower limb was nowhere in sight. From the knee down it was a raw stump of burnt, naked, pink muscle and shattered white bone. The full thickness burns to the stump had left the charred flesh looking like a particularly nasty, overcooked piece of meat. To his benefit, the intense heat had at least seared the bloodvessels and ceased much of the bleeding. Fits and spurts of blood still escaped onto the scorched sand, dying it crimson.

His once white shirt was filthy, singed and spotted with blood. The corresponding messy rips and holes showing where the blast shrapnel had caught him.

Just behind him, his briefcase lay burning, the documents inside slowly incinerating into the black smoke that billowed from the expensive accessory.

His cellphone sat cracked and broken, fallen from his burnt hands.

Swollen, blistered eyes fixed sluggishly on Li as she approached.

"Bet you didn't save them all." He rasped dryly through a swelling throat.

"You son of a bitch!" Li shrieked, pouncing at the man emotionally. She found herself checked by Paulo's strong arms, red from the proximity of the heat.

He slowly and carefully pulled her back from the dying man.

A wet chuckle escaped the doomed man's lips, along with a thin bubbling of blood.

"And you didn't stop him, he's still out there." He rattled with his last breath.

"Stop who damn it?" Li demanded in unprecedented anger at the corpse. True fury flooded in for the first time in her life, overcoming years of suppression, training and meditation.

The mysterious dead man stayed as all dead men do; silent.

His bloodshot, forever-staring eyes offering no answers.

As the black smoke of the briefcase mingled with that of the towering inferno, the screams faded and the fuzzy dream sequence ended….

* * *

><p>End of Flashback (Cue floating cloudy music) ;)<p>

* * *

><p>"Oh. Wow." Alex exclaimed simply, at the end of the group's emotional tale. The guilt at abandoning his friends to such a mission gnawed heavily on Alex, adding to the burden he already carried.<p>

"You guys went through hell and back to help those people." He whispered softly.

The four survivors nodded somberly, their thoughts were with the countless ruined lives that had resulted from the event.

Alex refocussed on his driving, lost for words.

His story of travel and day-to-day living seemed woefully inadequate by comparison.

He thought he heard a faint sob from the backseat and watched Li and Amber budge closer together, Paulo leant a supportive hand to the mix.

"Stop." A fresh voice from further back cried weakly.

Paulo whirled in a flash. "Steve are you alright?" He checked on the man who had just spoken in concern, his eyes flying across the bandages.

"I'm much better thanks Paulo." He muttered, pushing himself to a sitting. The warhero had seemingly aged in only hours, with drawn, pale skin and dark bags under his eyes.

"And thank you two for dragging me out, even when I asked you not to." He added quietly with a slight smirk at the couple in the car.

"Why do we need to stop?" Alex enquired confused, even as he indicated and pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road.

"Stop and think for a second here kids, How do these people keep finding you?" The wizened soldier put to the group.

The friends pondered on this problem in silence until the vehicle came to a complete halt. The boys in the front turned so as to better interact with the rest of the group.

"Could it be our trackers?" Paulo threw out to the others, he struggled to see any other way.

"No, it can't be." Alex shot down, flushing.

"Why not?" Paulo asked curiously.

"Because Alex never took his with him when he left." Amber answered for him in a sad voice.

Alex confirmed this fact with a shy nod, his shame spreading.

"What would lead them to all five of us?" Li wondered aloud.

* * *

><p>"Damn it, why didn't I think of it before?" Hex exclaimed, slapping his forehead and reaching for his pack.<p>

In way of answer to the questioning glances, he produced his slim touchscreen phone.

"They have been tracking our location by our cellphones." He explained, fuming quietly that he hadn't figured it out earlier.

_Good one Mr. Tech Expert, you picked up on that one pretty sharply, _he admonished internally at his oversight.

The group all turned to look at Alex, to see whether this was a possibility in his case.

"I did take my phone with me because…" He mumbled, the last of his sentence disappearing.

"But my phone has been off this whole." Amber protested, meaning of course since she left Japan.

Paulo also contested. "Me too, my phone was off for my whole shift, so how did they follow me to the ambulance bay?"

Hex didn't hesitate to reply, but instead held up the plastic Ziploc bag he kept his phone in when he wasn't using it. The battery still sat inside, he always took it out of the device when he was finished calling or texting.

He turned to Amber, "I do tell you to take the battery out when you are not using it." He reminded her.

Amber scowled at her petpeeve and one of the odd habits she had been unable to break him from. Unless he was expecting a call or message he always removed the battery from his phone and encouraged her to do the same. Unlike her, his device was not always lighting up with phonecalls or messages from many friends. Hex was more of an email sort of guy and he mainly used his palmtop for that.

"Just because it is off doesn't mean it can't be used to track you." Steve confirmed, having taken advantage of this ability in the past with the SAS.

"You have to take the battery out, otherwise it can be remotely triggered to bug or track you." Hex elaborated, touching on one of the lesser-known powers available to anyone who knew their software and was inclined to use it.

"Damn that's how they found me." Alex realised, "I had to put my battery in to turn my phone on; I wanted to check it after I heard about Li on the news." He admitted with no shame this time.

With that, the group collectively removed their various phones, placed them on the carseat and removed their batteries.

Feeling a lot more secure, the group descended back into their journey.

* * *

><p>They travelled in silence for several minutes, each contemplating the privacy they sacrificed for convenience every day.<p>

As usual,it was Amber who spoke up and broke the silence.

"I'm sorry for butting in before Alex, can you please tell us your story?" She asked, with far more manners then Hex had ever heard her use.

_She must really want to hear his story,_ thought Li in amusement, in response to her friend's polite questioning.

There was a pregnant cause, but it soon delivered in the form of Paulo cracking wise.

"I bet Alex walked and hitchhiked the whole way." Paulo guessed cheekily.

The whole car rocked with laughter, even Steve joined in with a raspy chuckle.

Alex however, kept on laughing long after the others had finished, it was a joyous form of expression he hadn't used in a long time.

"You don't know how right you are mate." He admitted good-naturedly.

This triggered another round of amusement.

"Not much to tell really. I followed my feet, lonely and confused all the way up to Canada." He shrugged.

Once there, I spent the last of my money on ammo; then started hunting and foraging for food. Did that for a while and suddenly you guys show up." He finished, beaming at his friends.

"What? You didn't have zany adventures and fight bears or something?" Amber questioned him, disbelieving of his simple answer.

"Well, there was this one bear.." Alex kidded with a twitching grin.

Paulo nodded his head in approval; _jokes are good_.

Alex was spared the further trepidation of elaborating on his encounter, by an urgent sounding Hex beside him.

"You guys better listen to this." He insisted seriously, his eyes glued to the small screen of the palmtop in his hands.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N- **A bit of a lighter chapter after the last dark one, riddled with significant developments though! Thanks for the reviews, enjoy.

**-Grey.**

* * *

><p>Hex plugged in a cable to hook his handheld device up to the stereo, replacing the mix of metal and rock that he had previously been cranking.<p>

A dignified woman's voice sounded loud and clear from the speakers, it was a live-streamed news report.

"….Recent evidence that has come to light surrounding the fantastic escape of Eco-terrorist Liang Chiang from Japanese custody."

"Eco-terrorist!" Li spat in outrage at the exaggerated title.

The story continued despite her protests.

"Reports from a classified source have connected Chiang to a secretive international group, referred to in correspondence as Alpha Force."

The friends collectively gasped at the naming of their group.

"While information is still being analysed by global intelligence agencies, some things are quickly becoming apparent." The woman continued in her narrative.

"Surveillance photos and video footage worldwide shows that the secret group has been training since an early age at skills usually associated with paramilitary or special forces."

Hex thought back to some of the specialised training they had conducted and could retrospectively see how it might look suspicious out of context.

"Clandestine operations have been conducted in several countries and a number of suspicious deaths linked to this groups involvement."

"Jeez they paint us out like we are the bloody Al Qaeda." Amber growled heatedly, becoming steadily angrier at the slant on their story.

"The funding for such training and operations has been revealed to have come from the pockets of the multibillion dollar Middleton Estate. The sole heir of this empire, Amber Middleton is alleged a key member of this group."

"The secrets out." Li gasped in shock.

"It is of note that Middleton's Uncle and minder to the family fortune, died early last year under suspicious circumstances. In light of the new evidence, Ms Middleton is now wanted for further questioning in connection with his death."

"_Dios mio, _they can't honestly be suspecting Amber of doing it!" Paulo hissed in outrage.

"And the profile photo they found of me was terrible." Amber exclaimed, watching the screen over Hex's shoulder.

"We will keep you updated on this shocking case as it develops." The newsreader signed off, leaving a dead quiet car in her wake.

* * *

><p>"Looks like we are truly fugitives now." Alex declared sadly.<p>

"Every policeman on earth is going to be looking for me," Li despondently concluded.

"Me too," Amber added grimly.

"Maybe I should just hand myself in?" Li proposed suddenly, in defeated manner that was so unlike her. She couldn't help but dwell miserably on the extra danger her presence was bringing to her friends.

"No," Steve stamped out her idea firmly, "You would be killed in captivity within the day, I am sure of it." He informed her, without a hint of uncertainty in his tone.

"What has become clear to me is that someone wants all of you dead. Now you can either go into hiding and hope the world gives up or you can do something about it." Steve roused the group, sounding almost angry.

Alex focussed forward on the remaining kms, without meaning to he had shut himself off from the group again.

He finally spoke, "First things first, we drop dad off at the hospital." He stated, there was no room for argument in his voice.

Steve nodded grimly, still looking very frail, as if the effort of just being awake drained him.

"Then we try and figure out who is behind this. Once we know who it is maybe we can put a stop to this madness." Alex finished, setting their priorities.

"Where do we start with that?" Paulo wondered aloud, lost in thought.

"I guess we should start with why someone wants us dead?" Amber considered.

"Revenge?" Li suggested, "An old enemy perhaps?"

"Maybe," Hex conceded, stroking his chin. "Seems like a lot of work just for revenge though, we must still pose a risk to someone."

"_Si, _part of some larger plan maybe." Paulo agreed excitedly.

"For world domination of course," Amber mocked the boys. "I see you have figured it all out Mr. Bond." She hassled him with her best Bond villain voice.

* * *

><p>"Okay it is a start." Alex encouraged, "So now, who are we thinking people?"<p>

Ideas bandied back and forth as the group presented and discussed potential groups or individuals that could be behind the nefarious attempts on their lives. What followed was a recap of some of Alpha Forces toughest opponents.

"Indonesian pirates?"  
>"Na not very piratey is it? Too clever for them and not swashbuckling enough."<p>

"The General?"  
>"Nope, man's best friend wasn't so friendly to him, remember Li?"<br>"Oh yeah, good one Steve."  
>"Thanks, I still can't believe I didn't recognise my own son."<p>

"Ulster?"  
>"Nasty guy, seems his style, but he should still be in jail right?"<br>"Should be, can you check on that one Hex?"

"The Piranha?"  
>"KIA, he's dingo tucker now."<br>"Ha good one Paulo."  
>"Thank you, Hex."<p>

"Creepy organ donor guy?"  
>"Trilock? Still enjoying dialysis from a prison cell last I heard."<br>"Hex?"  
>"Yeah, Yeah I'll follow it up."<p>

"Scorpion?"  
>"He's busy polluting the well in some poor desert village thanks to Li."<br>"It was almost worth the knife to the guts."

"What about the little Asian dude who was busted on the other end of the poaching?"  
>"The rough sort of prison he got checked into, I'll be surprised if he can still tie his shoes let alone talk."<br>"Too true, I'll have a look into it anyway."

"What's his face, greasy oil guy?"  
>"Hearst got a good twenty in the big house. Ter Haar got a living room full of oily, dead seabirds and twenty five, after the prosecutors hung him over his incriminating emails."<br>"I'll check to make sure Bubba is treating both of them real nice."  
>"Thank you resident hacker."<p>

"The Laird from Scotland McAllen or Allen, whatever his name was."  
>"Frank Allen? Yeah the guys who didn't get his delivery cut him up and burnt him in a barrel."<br>"Ah probably wasn't him then."  
>"Haha no probably not Paulo."<p>

"What's left of Solambia?"  
>"Ha yeah right Alex, they struggle to scrape together a GDP! How do you expect anyone there to pull this off?"<br>"Good point, they don't get much Internet in those mudhuts do they Hex?"  
>"Don't remind me, my own personal hell!"<p>

"The rest of the Russian mob?"  
>"They do seem the kind to hold a grudge."<br>"If it was them, then don't you think we would have burly Russians trying to cap us, not what I assume are mercenaries and hitmen."  
>"They subcontracted?"<br>"It's hell in the way of tax implications.."  
>"Lets just put them on the maybe pile okay?"<p>

"Camilla?"  
>"Oooohhh snap."<br>"You called it Amber, look at him he is going bright red."  
>"Seriously Alex, you hurt the girl bad..."<br>"Thanks for the reminder AGAIN Amber! Be that as it may, hiring assassins doesn't seem her style."  
>"Turning up uninvited in lingerie, to try and seduce you into taking her back seems more likely."<br>"What the hell Paulo?"  
>"Sorry I thought we were brainstorming here."<p>

"What about your mate with the specs from the mine Li?"  
>"He wasn't my mate Alex and he seems unlikely, being dead and all."<br>"True, but what about his boss? I dare say he wasn't too pleased about the whole foiling his silver mine operation."  
>"That's true, but we already looked for him Alex and came up dry."<br>"Okay so mystery boss guy is on the list, we'll have another look."

"Did we reach an agreement on the crazy Ex thing?"

"Alex why have you stopped the car?"

"Because we are finally at the hospital." Alex explained in exasperation, like it was obvious and ignoring the previous jibe from Paulo.

* * *

><p>"I think Alex and Hex should go take him in, having not been mentioned by the news." Li suggested.<p>

"Why not me?" Paulo demanded indignantly, liking the idea of checking out a new hospital.

"A. You will medic geek out and touch everything and B. We will lose a lot of time while you are flirting with the nurses." Amber explained patiently.

"Awww." Paulo hung his head in disappointment, his friends knew him too well.

"I think Alex could perhaps use a quick shave and haircut first." Li suggested eyeing his shaggy appearance. The long blonde hair and beard made him look like a particularly dodgy customer

Even Steve nodded at this idea and tossed him Hex's shaving kit from the backseat.

Alex sheepishly took the bag and a bottle of water behind the car, while the others worked to get Steve into a wheelchair.

The hairy young man started with the beard, hacking away large clumps of it with the small pair of scissors, til it was at a manageable length to shave. Even then it was very painful and after a few painful strokes with the hand razor he deferred to using the electric one instead.

While he did so he marvelled at the number of haircare and gel products in the hackers small bag. _Is all this really tactical,_ he wryly thought, sniffing the contents of one of the array of small pots.

Looking to his own hair he all but gave up, he had pretty much rooted the pair of scissors by cutting off his beard, so he settled for a quick wash using a handful of nearby snow. Rubbing some of the slush on his freshly butchered face, he shivered and replaced the items in the bag.

Shaking his head like a wet dog, he flicked the remaining moisture out of his long, light sprawl of hair and walked back around the vehicle to reunite with his friends.

Five judging eyes instantly fell upon him as he returned and threw the toilet bag back to its owner.

"Well it looks a little more like the old Alex." Paulo started positively; taking in the short, fine stubble he had reduced the beard to.

"Eaah." Li peeped noncommittally, giving a shaking flat hand gesture for indifference.

"Did you even cut your hair?" Amber asked sceptically.

"What the hell did you do to my scissors?" Hex cried in dismay, more focused on his ruined toiletries.

"Good enough." Steve decided, cold in his chair and eager to move.

"Whatever," Alex shrugged off their comments and turned to Hex. "Come on Schwarzkopf, lets go." He snapped.

The others climbed back into the warmth of the vehicle, eager to escape the cold.

* * *

><p>Alex shared a grin with the other two guys as they wheeled Steve into the Emergency Department.<p>

"Please help my father." He pleaded theatrically to the nurse at the front desk.

"What happened to him?" The pretty, young, redheaded nurse asked in concern, eyeing the man's poor general appearance. She quickly bustled around to his side of the desk the triage phone already in her hands. Any sign of fatigue at the late hour was completely gone.

"We were out hiking and he was mistakenly shot by a hunter." Alex replied, Hex beside him nodded frantically confirming the story.

"A Gunshot wound? My god, right this way." The nurse cried, wheeling Steve out the double doors to the back.

Hex gave Alex a wink and nodded to the attractive nurse leading the way.

"Good thing we didn't bring Paulo in huh?"

"Who dressed his wounds and gave IV fluid?" The nurse asked curiously, looking between the pair as they wheeled past the monitored and acute rooms.

"Ah I did." Alex answered quickly, having forgotten about the fact that they brought him in after having already received some treatment, courtesy of Paulo.

"I was a medic in the army." He lied in way of explanation, going with the first thing that came to mind. Steve's smile stretched at the thought.

"You did a good job." The young nurse praised him, as they pulled into a cubicle and Alex and Hex advanced to help Steve onto the bed.

"Explains the nice arse." She whispered to herself, under her breath while she paused in her handover to watch the two young men help Steve get comfortable.

"Alex," Steve called seriously in a hiss, causing his son to lean in close over him.

"Take this." He ordered quietly, surreptitiously reaching into his coat and unbuckling his pistol holster. It was something he had looted from the corpse of the first dead soldier in the cabin.

Alex reluctantly took the weapon, carefully and in reverence, he looked to his father uncertain.

"But.." He started before being cut off by his fathers stern lecture voice.

"No buts just take it; they won't let me keep it in here and it will raise too many questions."

His voice softened as he saw the comprehension in his son.

"Besides," he continued, "I can't hit much anymore these days anyway."

"Huh?" Alex murmured, confused over his father's cryptic words, as he sneakily tucked the holster into his jacket.

"It's because you are going blind isn't it Mr. Miller?" Hex piped up for the first time, asking as respectfully as he could.

Steve looked over at the young hacker with a slow smile.

"He's a clever one this friend of yours Alex, Yes Hex that is right." He admitted.

"But when?" Alex started again, shocked by the revelation.

"Not important right now," Steve insisted disregarding the question with a wave of his hand.

"Go now, find whoever is behind this and stop them." He firmly commanded before looking seriously at his son with an odd expression. Was that pride or regret?

"I see now that you have acquired some of my less palpable, but useful traits son. Do not be afraid of yourself and what you are capable of doing. You are going to need to embrace all of who you are to survive." He put a hand on Alex's shoulder.

"I missed you so much son. Go make me proud." He finished.

Hex thought of the sharp, emotionless eyes the man had worn while dispatching the soldier in the cabin and remembered seeing a similar change come over Alex at times. He could see what the trait or ability might be that was shared in their blood; an extremely focussed calmness that seemed to disregard all emotion and allow complete clarity in action. It was this trait that made Steve such a good killer and apparently it gave his son the same advantage.

The wounded soldier addressing him, snapped Hex from this serious line of thinking.

"Hex it's been a pleasure, look after my son, your lovely lady and the others." He told the young man, shaking his hand firmly.

The pair left the department, heavy in thought.

* * *

><p>"How did you know Dad was losing his sight?" Alex asked his friend as they opened the door back into the triage and waiting room area.<p>

"Little things," Hex explained and began listing his observations. "He didn't recognise us at first when we went to him, because the light was poor. He has a tendency to feel objects rather then look at them. Finally he didn't particularly trust himself to shoot or drive any real distance."

"Was that why he took a desk job with the Regiment?" Alex asked, trying to put the pieces together. Once again he was quietly in awe of his friend's skill at noticing patterns in anything and figuring out puzzles.

"That was part of it, I think he also realised that as you constantly reminded him; he was getting old." Hex decided with a grin at his mate.

Alex returned the smile, thinking of the friendly banter he had always had with his 'old man'.

The pretty reception nurse thought the smile was for her of course and flashed her own back at him. She shone under the attention and decided to go and talk to the handsome young 'medic' again, after all it was a long boring nightshift. Her confidence building, she left the desk and slowly approached the two young men, who had stopped, captivated by the news on the small television in the corner. She didn't even look up at it, having seen the same story the last hour or so about some shadowy new terrorist group.

The sound from the crackly old TV speakers washed over her as she approached.

"..Further member has been identified as Paulo Martinez, who was last seen just before a bombing outside of a Queensland hospital that left three dead and seven wounded. Given the revelation of his background with this group, Martinez is now wanted by Australian authorities for questioning in relation to this event."

The two well-built, young men exchanged a look.

"Finally security footage from both the police station and ambulance bay has lead to the identification of a fourth member."

A still shot of Hex's face appeared onscreen, taken directly from video footage at the police station. The real Hex took a moment to realise he was looking at himself in his lawyer get up.

"Melvin Johnston, an ex-government employee turned rogue hacker. Found in connection to dozens of Internet privacy related crimes, under his alias; Hex. Evidence gathered during the raid and search of Middleton's New York apartment, place him as her partner and fellow member of the group."

"Damn, they raided our apartment, I wonder what they made of all the blood and bullet holes?" Hex thought aloud, his eyes pinned to the news report.

"Preliminary reports also suggest the presence of a fifth unknown youth operating with this cell. His identity at this stage is still undetermined and his involvement only proved through photographic evidence and this recovered film that was leaked to our station."

A short clip of the news broadcast from Belize played without the sound, clearly panning over the five friends.

"Intelligence agencies are warning the public not to try and approach any of these individuals. This Alpha Force is declared a potential international threat, possibly armed and definitely dangerous." The report concluded, leaving a background of the five friends faces and a number to dial if they were seen.

"Well that sure ain't good." Alex whispered to Hex as the two turned for the door.

To their surprise, the helpful nurse from before was standing right there, her face warping from confusion to horror. Her attractive features stretched in fear as she screamed.

"Help! Security!"


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N-** Wow been a while since I updated huh? I haven't forgotten, just been a different kind of busy. Don't worry I finish what I start though, we will get there. Thanks for all your reviews and I hope you enjoy.

**-Grey.**

* * *

><p>Three large men in grey uniforms startled from their seats at the cry of security. The dull grey uniforms they wore were crumpled with all the restless sleep that they had been able to catch, working the graveyard shift. Three middle-aged rent-a-cops, whose robust physique lent them to the menial job, of providing security to the waiting room of a hospital.<p>

They quickly picked up the source of alarm and followed her pointing finger towards the two perpetrators.

The leader of the trio was balding and cranky looking; a demeanour cultivated from years of dealing with unruly patients, who refused to behave. He scowled at Hex and Alex, an expression shared by his two colleagues as they stood and moved to stand between the pair and the sliding-glass automatic doors, effectively blocking their exit.

At the call of security, two other guards emerged from a room on the other side of Hex and Alex. Hex turned back and forth between the two teams of guards, weighing up his options, they were surrounded. A narrow corridor of waiting room chairs funnelled the groups into three tiers in the space leading up to the exit. Barring escape over the flimsy plastic triage seats, they were walled in from both sides.

The pair of guards closest to the nurse advanced, edging Alex and Hex towards the trio blocking the door.

The tension was electric, as the two young men were caught in a closing vice, their eyes darting between the surrounding forces as they were pushed closer to the double doors and its awaiting guard.

Unable to back up any further, while maintaining a safe distance from the security, the Alpha Force members ground to a stop and an uneasy impasse.

Alex remained facing the advancing force, which had matched their halt, while Hex turned on his heel to face the trio at the door.

It was a standoff.

* * *

><p>The most inexperienced of the guards eyed Alex nervously, his youth and jumpiness evident. Assuming menace, his hand strayed to his belt and Alex reacted.<p>

Not knowing what kind of weapon the man was going for; Alex took a heavy-handed approach to take control of the situation. He drew the pistol from its concealed holster and pointed it directly at the young man.

Colour drained from the security guard's face at the sight of the deadly weapon, behind him the nurse's eyes widened in fear.

"Stay back!" Alex warned jadedly, swinging the pistol left and then right to cover the other man.

Hex struggled to divide his attention between what Alex was doing and what the three men in front of him were up to.

In a motion of surrender, Alex's guards raised their hands, empty palms facing him. The security by the door followed their lead and parted their midst to allow an exit for the gun-wielding pair. Hex and Alex slowly backed away towards the double doors, the latter roving to each side of them to cover the gathered guards that now flanked them.

The door was only a few steps away when Alex detected a blur of movement from behind him.

While covering one line of guards with the weapon he had created a blindside for the youngest member of the security team to try something stupid. The foolish young man tried to be a hero and lunged at the gun toting stranger from the television warnings.

Alex spun in an instant to face the sudden flash of movement in his peripheral vision, his weapon whipped around to indicate his aim. Fast as he was, he was too late to stop the guard.

Beside him however, Hex was not.

Having seen the young security officer fidgeting and eyeing the weapon nervously, he had kept an extra close eye on him as they were backing away. Accordingly, the instant the youth stepped out from the line towards Alex, Hex was ready.

With a burst of speed Hex launched forward and met the ambusher side on with a firm double-palmed shove. Catching the advancing sentinel mid-step and off balance, his thrust drove the guy off his line of attack sideways. The force of push was enough to send the smaller guard sprawling to the ground.

Alex turned just in time to see the kid go flying off his feet, to crash into the unforgiving hospital tiles. His distraction was all the rest of the security force needed to take advantage and try to take action.

A firm hand landed on Alex's shoulder, driving him to turn back around towards its owner. Jerking in surprise, he went with the force and spun to see one of the older nightwatchmen was the one who had reached for him. His other hand was reaching for Alex's approaching weapon.

Without thinking, Alex fended the reaching hand with his own free hand, while he punched his gun-hand through the newly open gap. The pistol-grip of his heavy weapon slammed into the abdomen of his opponent with terrible force, expelling air from the targets lungs and causing the damaged area to knot and seize in response to the trauma.

Alex had no time to feel comforted by the non-damaging takedown he had just utilised, as more of the security force came at him.

* * *

><p>Mere metres away to his right, Hex was caught up in a similar battle against the hospital's protection services.<p>

Having dropped the initial antagonist and averted an immediate crisis, Hex was immediately set upon by the next closest man. Unfortunately for the unarmed hero, his new opponent possessed the clarity of mind to draw his heavy flashlight before trying to take him on.

Caught by surprise in the suddenness of the attack, Hex only just had time enough to raise both his arms up to protect his head. It was that alone that saved him, when the heavy D-cell torch smashed down on his guarding right forearm. The hacker recoiled under the solid hit by bending his knees, a dull pain hummed through his attacked arm, but he ignored it as he sighted his foe and stirred into retaliation.

The large, balding security officer was already raising his weapon again for another blow, when Hex snotted him in the nose with a savage lash of his left forearm. The bony ridge of his ulna pulverised the delicate cartilage of the nose and sent stress fractures spiralling away through the supporting bones of the face.

The hacker's right hand whipped up to check the torch hand, while he threw his body in around to the outside of the large middle-aged man. Dragging down on the weapon straightened the joint, until it was brought to an abrupt stop by Hex's firm thigh. The painful hyperextension of the joint drew a strangled shriek of pain from its owner and the flashlight was bounced out of his weakened grip.

With the club out of play, Hex doubled his arms up around the opposite side of the neck and dragged down and laterally with a step back. The combination of weight across the collarbone and the overwhelming force sideways, allowed him to reap the man to the ground with an unyielding impact and little resistance. Disengaging from the floored foe, he looked up to see how Alex was faring.

The young man from Northumbria was surprised at both his opponents and himself.

The aged security personnel threw themselves at him with a surprising vigour and enthusiasm that defied their shabby appearances and physiques. Some small part of him recognised the fact that these men weren't his true enemies that they were just some guys trying to do their job. This thought kept restraint in his limbs and removed the venom and intention from his blows.

He was surprised at his body and mind's ability to instantly adapt to the demands of closequarters fighting, despite the extensive break he had enjoyed from it. Physically, he was still in good shape from living hard in the wilderness and that gave him strength and the speed to duck the clumsy swing of a baton that immediately followed his incapacitation of his first attacker.

In the nanosecond his mind had to interpret the information, he sized up the opponent behind him who had swung it and spun with a counterattack. Re-emerging from his crouch as he built up circular momentum, Alex threw out his gunhand and caught the offender right square in the forehead.

Subconsciously he dispersed some of the force from his backhand by pulling back at the last moment, so as not to do any permanent damage. Instead the added mass of the pistol was just enough to stun the man back off his feet and out of the way.

One final guard stood and decided that he needed to make a rush at the pair to do his job and maintain his standing within the security group. With a yell he charged at Alex and Hex, who looked at each for a second in puzzlement before both stepping out of his way. With a light hand each, they assisted his momentum until he over balanced forward, straight into the dual glass automatic doors.

A weak chuckle escaped from the friends as the final line of defence stumbled through the doors just as they opened and fell flat on his face.

Seriousness returned in an instant at the scene of disabled security officers around them and the they hastened for the door themselves. Alex holstered the pistol as they walked and hesitated for a second before they crossed the threshold.

"Sorry." He mumbled to the stunned redhead nurse, who was still standing in place, stuck in a horrified (or perhaps awed) silence at what she had just witnessed.

Then they ran.

* * *

><p>"Go! Go! Go!" Hex yelled at Paulo as he and Alex sprinted up the vehicle and piled in.<p>

"Did something go wrong?" Amber asked suspiciously, eyeing the commotion in the emergency department foyer as Paulo sped out of the hospital grounds.

"Try we have all been declared international terrorists." Hex puffed, looking over the backseat as if he expected the hounds of hell to be chasing.

"Glad I'm not the only one then," Li commented dryly.

"Steve taken care of?" Paulo asked from the drivers seat, looking at the boys in his mirror to gain a greater level of attention.

"Yeah he was seen to and being treated under his fake name before we had to leave." Alex informed them.

"Pity we had to leave too mate," Hex added slyly with a wink. "That nurse who was keen on you was a decent looker."

Alex felt blood rush to his face at the comment.

Paulo turned fully in his seat to offer the pair a fist bump, before an irate Li screamed at him to watch the road.

"Where are we going anyway?" She asked turning her voice to the whole car this time and not just an abashed looking Paulo.

"South?" Alex decided after a brief contemplation.

"We'll head towards the border while we try to figure this one through. I have a feeling that America is where things are happening." He admitted, the argument sounding weak even to him.

Surprisingly noone contested the plan.

"South it is," Paulo happily confirmed, quietly pleased to be leaving the cold north.

Alex slumped back in his chair and let the after-effects of the adrenaline wash over him. With the threat immediately over fatigue began to creep into his muscles and he became acutely aware of every ache and pain he had sustained over the last couple of days.

Short, violent flashbacks of his recent fight washed over him as he analysed his injuries. _I don't even remember getting hit in the ribs_, he thought to himself tiredly upon inspecting his purpling flank.

Beside him, his comrade in arms was going through similar sensations from the withdrawal of the natural stimulant. Amber's squeeze on his right hand seemed especially strong and almost painful, his forearm dully complained from its earlier combat.

Ignoring the twinge of pain, he clumsily undid his fingers from hers and reached up to his chest rig, to retrieve his palmtop. Amber suddenly stopped his hand in its progress of undoing the Velcro lid on its case.

"Hex," She whispered. Her hand gently ran the length of his sore forearm where a significant undulation now existed. A crude dent a couple of inches wide and about a centimetre deep rested midway on the outer aspect of his forearm.

"Huh would you look at that?" Hex remarked at the deformity, not overly concerned or pained by it. He observed it like he would a curious anomaly in code, detached, yet deserving of his attention. _If that was my other arm I'm sure that would hurt like hell, _he considered internally, grateful for the first time to his nerve damaged right arm.

Without another word he surrendered his dull right arm to a concerned Amber, who proceeded to splint the limb with a Sam-splint from Paulo's trauma pack. His attention had retuned to his research and investigation, a curiosity that was of greater concern to him, even if Amber's priorities were not similarly aligned.

* * *

><p>The next few days consisted of the team alternating between driving, researching, sleeping and generally catching up as they steadily made their way south.<p>

The music in the vehicle seemed to reflect who was driving, often to the discomfort of the passengers. The variation in music was as varied as their backgrounds and almost symbolised the diversity of the group. It was also a point of hot contention because while there was some overlap in the tastes, they all differed greatly and few of the members liked each other's music.

Paulo started with easy listening music that mellowed the mood and seemed to personify his laid back attitude to life. In between the tinkling of Latin guitars, familiar artists appeared on his playlist, like Jack Johnson, Annah Mac and his latest Australian favourite; Pete Murray. The relaxed genre of music at least meant that some of the group was able to get some sleep.

For Li it was an amping hour or two of fast paced electronic and house music. Sleep was absolutely out of the question, as Alex covered his ears against the throbbing, pulsing noise, which he barely considered music. Relief came in the form of the occasional punk rock tracks that boasted a suicidal pace to them. Li bounced hyperactively in her seat to the mostly synthetic beats, her enthusiasm not so strongly shared by the majority of her fellow travellers.

As they uneventfully passed through customs and crossed the border into the United States of America, Amber took her turn to drive and plugged in her Ipod. Happy to be back in her home country, she cranked up the volume on all of her favourite tunes. Pink and Avril Lavigne blasted from the poor, abused speakers of the vehicle, fleshed out with a bit of Paramore and Evanescence. Female artists with attitude and spunk, much like their fan.

It was halfway through the Lady Gaga set that Hex finally pulled off his headphones and demanded the wheel.

The inaugural erratic sounds of System of a Down took over the car, drowning it in their unique, stirring brand of metal. Hex's darker taste in music swung from the eerie to the hauntingly beautiful and was summed up in their songs Aerials or Spiders. He followed up with a combination of Tool, Disturbed and A Perfect Circle to round out his sombre rock collection.

Too reminiscent of his Ketamine trip, Alex elected to drive next. Behind him, Amber, who was used to his odd music, swayed in time to her acquired favourites. Li and Paulo giggled in amusement at the sight, unable to imagine Hex reciprocating in this experiment and listening to any of her Lily Allen or Lady Gaga.

Alex finally got his turn to drive and simultaneously inflict his preferred music on his friends. Borrowing Hex's Ipod, he was able to find plenty of music that suited his mood. Luckily Hex and Alex had always shared a propensity for rock and metal, so there was a lot of crossover in his selection.

After several rousing Audioslave hits, followed up by some Rise Against, Hex called for the music to be turned down. Always reluctant to reduce the volume when Rage Against the Machine was playing, Alex muted the track to listen in to his friend.

_Better be important_, he thought grumpily as he missed out on the main riff by Tom Morello.

* * *

><p>"Okay here are my Alpha Force Top 7 watch list suspect statuses." Hex announced with a flourish.<p>

"Trilock; the creepy organ donor guy is doing hard time in a New Delhi prison, still waiting on a donor. Unlikely to get a kidney, unlikely to have organised this." Hex surmised with a grin.

"Cool." Amber acknowledged, able to tick the organ trafficker off the list.

"Our resident oil tycoon and his friend are still serving in San Quentin and are pretty low on the pecking order there apparently. We are talking tossing other guys salads low!" Hex emphasised with no small satisfaction at their punishment.

"Euuhh. Thanks for the mental image Hex." Li commented, her face screwed up in disgust and the list dropped by one again.

"Our little Asian Ivory smuggler is in Changi prison, Singapore. One of the hardest prisons in the world. I don't think he knew the link to us in Africa anyway. Very unlikely." The hacker concluded confidently.

"Another write off." Paulo agreed, his frustration growing as the list continued to shrink.

"Lord or Laird McWhatever,"

"Wait Hex he's already dead." Alex stopped him.

"Yeah I know, I was just curious to see the pictures of it. Bleaah very gruesome!" Codeboy confessed with an ill look.

Raising the fingers on his good left, he ticked off the remaining suspects.

"Ulster is dead too, Solambia is still a third world dustbowl. There's no word on the Russians, sounds like they have fallen from power since Ivanovich's untimely death. Nothing more on the Mexican silver mine or the mysterious benefactor and Camilla, as far as I can tell is still hot, a little crazy and her current whereabouts unknown." He finished with an amused grin at the last point that he had tacked on the end for a laugh.

Paulo nodded his approval at the crack and knocked knuckles with his friend, ignoring the sudden change in their driver's hue.

"Wait, did you say Ulster is dead? How?" Amber queried, troubled by the point.

"Heart attack in prison apparently, his file says." Hex explained raising an eyebrow at her line of questioning.

"He wasn't that old at all," Li pointed out remembering the man, with a not so fond look on her attractive face.

Paulo shrugged noncommittally, "What was he late forties? It's not unheard of." He rebutted having gone to people of similar age who had died in that same manner.

"Hmmm," Alex pondered quietly, leaning on the wheel.

"So basically we've got no leads?" Li cut to the chase, never one to pussyfoot around the issue.

"Yup," Paulo agreed morosely, his temporary excitement at going over suspects had dried up when they ran out and he was left feeling tired and dull.

"We've been driving all day, can we pull over somewhere for the night?" Amber asked suddenly, yawning widely at the sinking sun.

"Yeah I'm beat." Paulo supported, always keen to rest and the others nodded in turn.

Alex nodded in acknowledgement and moved to comply, his own eyelids were feeling weighted.

_We'll pull over, rest up and start again in the morning_, he decided.

_T__hings will be better in the morning,_ he thought to himself, unaware of how wrong he was.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N- **See? Starting another Fic or two on the side, but still getting an update through on this one ;) Thanks again for all the reviews and feedback guys.

Here is the next chapter; edgy for those who like it like that.

**-Grey.**

* * *

><p>The group found a nice empty rest stop, just off the highway to rest for the night.<p>

Everybody disembarked to stretch; Alex started doing lunges to give his knees a good flex. Paulo rotated at his middle, swinging his arms; multiple clicks escaped from his back.

"That's better," He sighed in relief, taking off his overcoat. The temperature was getting fairer the further from the pole they travelled.

It felt like they had been driving forever when it had actually only been about a week, albeit a week of hard driving. Their stop tonight represented the first real break they had taken in that time. The solid effort had left them a couple of states deep into America, so far without incident.

Alpha Force got to work quickly despite their grogginess and set up their tents and respective sleeping gear for the night.

With the bedding set up, Alex took his leave and wandered off on his own to the edge of the scraggly forest that bordered the rest stop. In quiet contemplation, he stood facing off into the barren wilderness.

He stewed internally; something in the picture of events they had seemed familiar. He felt like there was a connection, some link that they had overlooked.

"Thought of anything we missed?" A voice asked from behind him and Amber stepped out of the dark car park.

"No, I've been wracking my brain, trying to think what it might be." Alex admitted, sitting down on a BBQ table at the edge of the light and facing back towards their encampment. Their vehicle was parked up tight against the barrier and the two small pale, dome tents sat metres away on the grass.

"Maybe Hex will have more luck as he mulls it over and keeps digging." He finished, watching the dim light flicker in one of the tents.

"Yeah, hopefully," Amber agreed stepping closer and pulling her pack around to her front.

"Hey I've got something for you," She announced, digging through the bag.

Alex's curiosity was piqued.

Amber drew a dark bundle and it slowly unfurled from her hands to reveal several objects, linked by what appeared to be a hardy strap.

It took Alex a moment to recognise what he was seeing.

"My survival belt..?" He whispered in awe.

"That's not all." Amber smiled at his reaction, as she untangled a Kevlar sheathe just short of a foot long from its position in the middle of the rig.

Alex took the belt from her with trembling fingers. The familiar rough Kevlar and sturdy canvas weave felt like an old friend.

"You kept this for me?" He questioned in surprise, his eyes watering, before pulling her into a tight hug.

Amber was a bit shocked by his rare emotional outburst, but hugged him right back. She was glad to have the old Alex back.

"Better cut that short before Hex sees ya." Li commented slyly, walking over to the pair.

Alex's gaze carried past her to the tent with the single light on again. _Best not to tempt fate_, he wisely thought, releasing his friend.

"I hear he is the jealous type." Alex joked, before his eyes trailed back down to bundle in his hands. Amber followed his gaze.

"Ah well I thought I better hold onto it in case you came to your senses." Amber drawled with a smile of superiority lighting her face.

"Thank you." Alex genuinely thanked her, reliving a different happy memory, as he fastened the belt around his waist once more. He finally felt whole once more with his trusty belt around his middle and a reliable blade nestled against his left thigh.

"Well that looks better," Li commented in satisfaction. "Alex without his special survival belt and knife is like Indiana Jones without his whip."

"Superman without his cape?" Alex suggested cockily.

"Kim Kardashian without her overdeveloped sense of entitlement." Amber finished with a giggle.

Alex's playful smile died on his lips as another car pulled into the parking lot.

* * *

><p>It was a dark coloured Sedan that moved far faster then it should in a rest stop and deliberately in a tight circle through the parking area, towards Alpha Force's camp.<p>

"Hey," Alex called out, bursting to his feet and leaping the short metal parking barrier to pursue the vehicle.

His heart dropped as the driver's window cracked open and it slowed when it came parallel to the campsite. The unmistakeable outline of a guns barrel poked through the open window and the night was torn by an extended burst of deafening blasts.

Bullets shredded the tents to pieces, short strips of fabric ripping off with each round and leaving behind a battered skeletal frame of carbon fibre and fibreglass poles. The light inside was extinguished in an instant, as its source was destroyed.

Tattered shreds were soon all that remained from the unsurvivable assault on the feeble structures.

With the tents decimated in less then a second, the raging torrent of gunfire swung to target the teams land rover. Heavy lead tore through the weaker metal of the car doors and shattered every window in the car. A couple of the tyres blew out from the weight of fire and the whole vehicle slumped to aside like a felled elephant.

Alex took all of this in within an instant, as his legs operated on autopilot and propelled him towards the attacking vehicle.

Behind him he heard Li and Amber scream in terror at the deadly damage dealt to the tents and anyone in them. Their footsteps pounded behind his as they raced to see if there was anything they could do for Hex and Paulo, who must have been caught in the fire.

Alex blocked all this from his mind and focussed on the killer's car.

* * *

><p>With his grisly job complete the driver was slowly turning and building up speed to exit the carpark. The driver had slowed too much for his driveby though and had over exaggerated the angle in which he turned in for it. Accordingly, it was taking him some tight turning around to leave.<p>

This was all the time Alex needed to catch the car while it turned towards him.

Caught in its building momentum, Alex slid across the bonnet and managed to land a grip on the driver's door. He almost lost his grip as the pressure of his hand opened the door. Skidding across the gravel on the seat of his jeans, he somehow managed to pull himself to his feet off the open door. His boots now grated the loose ground and he was able to peer into the vehicle.

Inside the young driver frantically spun the steering wheel with his foot to the floor, desperately trying to escape.

His eyes widened in shock at the crazy man who had ripped open his door and was hanging on tenaciously. Indecision split his focus as his head whipped across to look at the empty TEC-9 machine pistol and its spare magazine lying on the passenger seat.

This moment of distraction was the driver's downfall, as his reduced steering meant that his car didn't quite clear the metal barrier that formed the perimeter of the rest area.

With a metallic crunch the sedan, slammed a corner into the carpark barrier and all momentum died. Luckily it had barely been going 30kph at the time, but Alex was still shaken free from his hold with the impact. The now flustered driver abandoned any attempt to reverse the car and instead reached for his empty weapon. His swift second hand closed over the fresh clip and was snatching it back, to slam into the magazine housing when he felt it.

The shock of cold metal against his bare throat.

"Drop the gun." Alex ordered firmly, his darkened knife blade pressed tight against the young man's neck.

The killer hesitated in light of the sudden change in circumstances and considered refusing the order. The gun felt heavy in his hands and he knew he could deliver a damaging strike with it, if the opportunity presented itself. Any indecision was banished moments later.

"Drop. The. Gun." Alex growled one final time in a voice like thunder. His eyes were cold and hard like granite staring down the driver and he pressed his blade in just a little bit harder. A thin crimson line opened above the keen edge and the nicked man hissed in pain, as a single rolling red drop spilled onto the tempered steel.

All strength and resistance finally left the defeated man and he limply dropped the gun back onto the passenger seat. He let the magazine fall solidly to the footwell and it had barely bounced before a single strong hand reached past Alex to grab the man's lapel. In one smooth motion Alex sliced the restraining seatbelt and stepped back to allow their prisoner to spill out onto the ground.

A cold trickle of blood dripped down the Northumbrian's lower back from his sandpapering excursion with gravel at low speed.

* * *

><p>Alex looked over his shoulder to see that a fuming Hex was the owner of the angry reaching hand that had yanked the driver from his seat.<p>

Without a word he stepped back to allow a vengeful Hex full reign, he tabled the fact that his friend was somehow still alive and not cut to ribbons by the earlier vicious hail of gunfire.

"_Santa mierda_!" Paulo cursed loudly from somewhere over by their shot up car, Li was busy tending to him.

_The fact that he is alive and swearing meant he can't be too badly hurt_, Alex reassured himself.

Amber rushed over to the two British men and looked to hug her one, but Alex firmly held her back. There was work to be done emotions could come later.

Left to process the would-be-killer, Hex slammed his seated captive roughly back against the car. A sizeable dent remained in the door panel where he impacted.

Hex's good hand withdrew from the push and came straight back in again in the form of a brutal elbow to the nose, pulverising cartilage and shattering the fine bones around the nasal cavity. Ignoring the blood streaming from the ruined feature and the corresponding mark on his own sleeve, Hex used the distraction to frisk the man to see if he had any other nasty surprises for the gang.

Li was facedown on the gravel with an arm extended out to Paulo. To her surprise she had found him underneath their car of all places, when she arrived. He had been down there when the shooting started, to check a rattle he had heard when they were driving, was his mumbled explanation.

His vigilance and dedication to his machines had actually saved his life in that respect. It did not however mean he escaped almost being squashed, as the whole vehicle tilted when the tyres were shot. With Li's help, he managed to squirm out from under the pockmarked vehicle. The blood covering his arm was testament to the fact that he had not escaped unscathed.

Amid his relieved-to-be-alive hug and applying pressure to her friend's bleeding shoulder, Li's gaze was drawn to the hacker and his captive. A shiver ran down her spine as she recognised the same clinical, appraising expression he had worn during another interrogation, over a year ago. Turning away so she didn't have to watch what unfolded, Li called Amber to her side and the pair worked on treating Paulo.

* * *

><p>Hex's search turned up only a wallet and phone, both of which he pocketed for later, now he was ready to have a chat with the man.<p>

Without warning he savagely slapped the prisoner right across the face. For his part the man's head jolted with the blow and he only paused to spit out a bloody, loose tooth before turning back to face the hacker. A disgusting combination of blood and mucus had flowed down from the destroyed nose to gruesomely cover most of his lower face. Scarlett bubbled and spat with each breath that rattled in and out.

Having regained his attention, Hex asked what felt like the million-dollar question.

"Who sent you?" Hex hissed dangerously at the man, his temper baited but held in check behind a mask of indifference.

The man in Hex's grip still seemed overwhelmed by the turn of events and his eyes roved incredulously.

_Damn, I might have hit him too hard with that elbow, he may be concussed, _Hex considered a little guiltily.

Alex stood behind the pair, with one eye on the freeway, wary of any approaching police or back up squad. Catching his friend's hesitation he simply gave him a nod of permission.

For the first time Alex got a chance to get a proper look at the young hitman and he was unsettled by what he saw. Maybe he was imagining things but he saw a shadow of himself in the boy; a lean, blond haired, fair-skinned youth. The medium length, dank blond hair hid an angular face that was considerably worse for wear from the earlier elbow. The biggest key difference was that the boy on the ground was scum, a murderer.

_Am I much better really? _Alex suddenly wondered at the distinction he had drawn in his mind.

"I..I.. I." The addled teen stuttered brokenly, his head lolling back against the car door.

_He's playing it up a bit, _Hex suspected harshly and he started brainstorming ideas to get him to focus on the questions.

With a grim leap in his chest, the hacker grabbed one of the man's limp wrist and straightened out his hand. With two hands he overpowered the weakly resisting limb and took hold of the index finger at the top with one hand, while the other kept the attached hand still.

"I need you to talk to me.." Hex snarled, punctuating the 'me' with a nasty roll of his top wrist that caused a horrid snap. The fractured finger sagged in his grip as he released it to let the screaming man see his own deformed injury. The damaged metacarpal poked crookedly from its first joint, the fingertip pointing unnaturally past its natural range of motion.

Its owner's eyes were now wide with pain and shock, any signs of inattention gone. He now fought wildly against Hex to reclaim his injured extremity, but the hacker simply slid his knee up to rest somewhere no male wants to be kicked. The slight pressure was enough to freeze his captive and Hex rested back on his heels, leaving the knee hovered in place, a warning.

Alex looked around unconcerned by the drama unfolding, pretending he didn't see or hear what was going on. Maybe if he pretended hard enough he wouldn't. He distracted himself by whistling a quiet jaunty tune and peering the other way to see how the girls and Paulo were getting on.

* * *

><p>With their face's now inches apart, Hex asked his captive audience again.<p>

"Who sent you?"

His recent injury seemed to have brought the young driver back down to earth and this time he answered coherently.

"I don't know, I never asked." He insisted shrilly, "I got a txt from some random number telling me to check my bank balance. I was suddenly rich, but the next text said I would have to work for my money, so I came here planning to earn it."

"You came here to kill us." Hex corrected him in a dark tone.

"I do a lot of things if the money is right," The pinned man sneered back, forgetting his present situation.

Hex gave his damaged hand a little wiggle, just to remind him and dug the killer's phone out with his free hand.

His attention still on the seated assassin, he tried to use the phone and found it locked. A four-digit password input flashed up at him.

"Password?" He grunted at the previous owner.

"Fuck you." The injured man spat back at him, playing the hard guy, yet grimacing in pain.

Hex didn't wait for an apology or another answer and instead dropped the phone so he could break another finger. A second sharp crack split the air before it was followed by another piercing scream. Alex's whistled tune became conspicuously louder and the girls once more, momentarily looked up from what they were doing.

The ruthless hacker braced forward again on his knee until his prisoner stopped fighting for his hand. This time he didn't release the injured extremity from his dull rights grip.

"Password?" He asked once more, wearily this time, his patience was wearing down.

"Five, two, two, five." The villain gritted through his teeth, his eyes bulging from their sockets in response to the agony he was enduring. His body now shook in response to the sparking of sensitive nerves all through both busted fingers.

Hex unlocked the phone and tossed it up to Alex, who had suddenly became interested again all of a sudden. He gave the hand one last vicelike squeeze before standing up, as his snitch passed out from the pain. Hex's threatening aura instantly faded and he shot a slight grin at his friend.

"Damn dude, that was intense." Alex admitted somewhere between shocked and impressed. "Good work." He concluded quietly with a clap on the shoulder.

"Thanks, I try to think 3/5 Jack Bauer and 2/5 the dad from Taken." Hex confessed, before turning his attention to the phone in Alex's hand.

* * *

><p>The boys perused the log of messages, with one eye on the unconscious killer. They barely noticed when Amber and Li made their way over, supporting Paulo between them.<p>

The pair had expertly bandaged his shoulder and he held a small piece of gauze to his forehead. A ricochet had caught him square in the shoulder and some shrapnel from the car had clipped his temple in the torrent of hot lead. A pretty lucky draw considering the punishment the tents and cars had taken.

Amber was finally able to link up with her boyfriend, his attention no longer occupied with cruelty and questioning.

She was hesitant at first to kiss him again, afraid of who she might find staring back at her. She was relieved however, to find the familiar pair of emerald eyes with the spark in them and the small, secret smile reserved only for her. Reassured by this, Amber pulled him into her embrace and without needing to be asked, he explained his absence from the underworld.

"I was just at the tree line trying to get better reception for the Internet on my palmtop when I hear this car pull up and start shooting." He sheepishly told her, watching her smile grow in amusement at his reason for not being in the tent.

"You are such a geek." Amber accused him tauntingly, with a caress of her hand on his neck.

"My geek," she corrected herself.

"Can you tie up out guest please Li?" Alex requested of his friend, before turning his attention to Paulo.

"You okay there brother?" He gently asked the large South American, providing him an arm for support and inspecting his strained face.

"Been worse, been better." Paulo decided grimly, cradling his wounded shoulder.

"I caught a stray one from this _bastardo _it would seem." He finished with a dirty look at the guy Li was busy binding at the wrists and ankles. Unsurprisingly, she took little care around his wounded hand

Li returned from her task a moment later as Hex and Amber emerged from their own little world.

Alex looked at the chaos and mess that lay before him, his mind came back to one simple concept; survival.

Addressing the others. he laid out their plans and orders.

"Okay that was bad and we were lucky to survive it, but it may have just given us some new leads and information." He revealed the phone in his hand at that point.

"We have been here too long already though, we need to get moving again and pronto. We'll take his car because it is less trashed and obvious then ours. Li, and Amber, I want you two to go through our tents and car, salvage what you can but be quick about it." The two girls peeled away to their duties, each silent hoping for the survival of various luxury items from the wreckage.

Amber's particular moisturiser was especially hard to procure as fugitives.

Alex turned to the men.

"Paulo I need you to give our new ride a once over, make sure she will still run alright and do anything you can to tidy her up a bit. I know you are injured though buddy, so just take it easy okay?" Their leader issued Paulo, as a task and a warning in one.

The last man standing, Hex turned to Alex. He didn't like the way that Alex's gaze had fixed on the bound, unconscious prisoner. He waited, knowing that his friend would either reach a decision or ask his opinion soon enough.

The expression on Alex's face bothered him though; it was strikingly similar to the one he had worn just before he asked Hex to pick the lock of a certain door for him in Egypt. A door that had opened the way for Alex to kill a man.

_A bad man, _the hacker reminded himself, _but a man all the same. _

Finally Alex spoke.

"Hex, you and I will take care of him."


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N-** Thanks again for all the reviews, a bit of delay in the updates because I am now split between this, my first community story and life. Anyway, if you like community and haven't checked it out yet, maybe have a look.

**-Grey.**

* * *

><p>Alex allowed a maximum of ten minutes for the group to complete their tasks; Hex and him finished their dark duty with a good five minutes to Alex had explained the necessity of the action they took, there was no more need for discussion between the pair.<p>

Not exactly sworn to secrecy, but disinclined to talk about the choice they had made, the hacker retreated to the new vehicle with the victims phone and his palmtop. He tried to focus on investigating the phone number that had set the hitman on their trail and almost as importantly, how they had tracked them down.

His mind kept snapping back to his recent conversation with Alex though and the difficult decision his friend had just made. Hex didn't hesitate to help Alex with the small aspect of assistance he had required, nor did he doubt his friend's clarity of mind.

_I think maybe Alex has taken his dad' words a little too much to heart, _Hex considered, watching the man in question go to check on the progress of the others.

Two minutes later the group was gathered and ready to leave.

The rest of Alpha Force carefully didn't enquire further when Alex quietly revealed that the assassin was taken care of.

_The less they know about it the better…_

Hex insisted on giving a briefing on his findings before they got moving.

"Okay I tracked the number that text this phone, to an area in Northern Colorado. It is an unregistered burner phone though, so I couldn't get a reliable ID from it." Hex announced flatly.

The group slumped in disappointment at the setback; they had expected something more solid in the way of a lead.

"I did find two other things though;" He added, noticing the blow to morale.

"Firstly, I've recently been spiked,"

This revelation didn't seem to elicit the shock and horror the hacker had been expecting.

"You mean like something in your drink?" Paulo asked uncertainly and giving a suspicious look at the drink bottle he had been drinking from. Alex grimaced at the memory of his own experience with a spiked drink in Scotland.

Hex ignored them and carried on.

"Secondly, I was able to hack into our would-be-killer's bank records and I've got an account number for his employer."

"Well that sounds promising." Amber declared with a proud smile towards her man.

"I'm still running the bank details through some programs I 'borrowed' from a friend but there should be something there for us to work with." Hex confirmed almost indifferently. Amber frowned to herself at his brooding behaviour.

"Spiked?" Li returned to the unfamiliar term, computers and their lingo not being one of her passions.

"Traced," Hex explained inpatiently, "I accessed an encrypted file that was tagged to give the location of anyone that accessed it. The time signature puts it at happening about half an hour ago."

"That is about the time we were checking up on our perps," Alex thought aloud.

"Exactly," Hex congratulated, taking a slight rise from having put the others onto the same wave length as him, "Which means…"

"That one of them didn't want us snooping in their file." Paulo finished his sentence, having caught up with the minds at work.

Hex waited for someone to come to the natural conclusion.

Amber took the bait first, "That means that it is someone on our list, who has been trying to kill us." She exclaimed.

"Further proven by hired thug that they got to follow up the lead," Li summed up agreeing with friend.

"Precisely, so once my programs are finished with it we will know for sure who it is." Hex finished, with a more typical, small, know it all grin and a wink to his clever friends, who had managed to put the pieces together.

"If you were spiked, Handsome, then we probably need to get moving again don't we?" Amber reminded him sweetly, playing to his mood.

"Ah yeah," Hex admitted almost angrily, having forgotten about that fact in all the excitement.

"We really need to go!"

* * *

><p>The gang mounted up once more, stowing all their baggage in the back seats because the boot wouldn't open, presumably it was damaged from the crash. Once more Hex and Alex claimed the front seat, the latter driving to leave the other free to research.<p>

The three in the back drifted into a deep sleep, unsettled by yet another brutal attempt on their lives. Paulo's wound seemed to drain him of energy and enthusiasm, his usual easy optimism all but spent.

Alex drove in silence, blinking his eyes forcibly and rubbing them to fight the fatigue he felt. Beside him Hex worked away early into the morning, his offer to take over driving, respectfully declined. In his lap sat the dismantled remains of the device, its tiny sim card had been inserted into his palmtop earlier and all data on it copied over.

He was busy running the sim through his laptop as though it was the phone, with an added buffering program that prevented intervention from external parties unknown.

Alex could see that his friend was reading and rereading the text of instructions that had been sent to the killer.

Suddenly the screen lit up as another text was delivered to the hijacked phone.

We need to talk.

It was from the same number that sent the instructions and the short message was heavy with implication. The four words on screen seemed like some of the most sinister that Hex had ever read, despite their simple nature.

_Do they know we have this phone?_ He wondered, as he tilted the screen to let Alex beside him read the words.

The driver didn't have to say anything, as he pulled off the highway and Hex turned in his seat to wake the others up.

"It's a trap!" Li blurted out defiantly, straight away after the front seat shared the development with the back.

"Thank you Admiral Obvious," Amber drawled, she thought of calling her a different Admiral, but she knew it would reveal to the others just how much she had been influenced by her Sci-Fi fan boyfriend.

"Of course it is a trap, but what do we do about it though?" She put out to the group.

"Not sure, but standard practice for a trap is not to go." Li pointed out.

"Yeah I'm pretty big on the whole living thing, it's this funny little quirk of mine." She carried on sarcastically.

"Guys cool it," Alex silenced the group before Amber and Li could hook into each other again.

"Maybe it's a trap or maybe it's a chance for us to spring our own." He suggested to the group, already he could see Hex nodding in approval.

"Yes, a trap, trap. That might work." Paulo agreed sagely, still looking somnolent from his broken nap.

The unspoken how seemed to hang like a physical presence in the air.

"What if they thought there was only four of us left?" Hex proposed with a devious grin.

* * *

><p>Collectively the group came to the decision and responded in the affirmative to the text in question. A reply bounced back moments later with the address of a diner about a days drive away and the time of 0800 the following day.<p>

The meeting was set.

Li swapped out with Alex to drive for the rest of the night and Amber took over Hex's position as co-driver.

"Hex seemed troubled," Li commented impulsively after a while, noticing that he had drifted off to sleep.

Amber checked on him over her shoulder as well and smiled at the cute picture that lay before her. The three rough, tough guys were all fast asleep and leaned in towards the middle seat, which looked pretty uncomfortable for Alex who was slumbering there. Even so a slight smile graced his face even while he slept and it was matched by the content expressions his sleeping companions wore.

Amber suppressed an 'Awww' and had to satisfy herself by taking a quick photo of the scene with Hex's palmtop.

_Guess what he is getting for his new screen saver,_ she decided with a wicked grin before turning her attention back to Li's comment.

Amber's smile died as she answered.

"He probably feels like it was his fault that we just got attacked. He is pretty proud of his online defence, so that must have been a pretty special spike to make it through." Still not facing the driver, she reached out and lovingly brushed an unruly sabre of black hair out of his sleeping eyes.

Li nodded in recognition of the feeling, she still held the secret shame that perhaps if she had handled things better at the mine in Mexico, they may have avoided their current mess altogether.

If Hex was being bested online too, it raised serious questions about their unseen opponents capabilities.

"So what happens once we find the person or people behind all this?" Li asked her best friend.

Amber paused in contemplation of the question.

"I honestly hadn't given it much thought, I was more preoccupied on finding them first. I guess once we find out who or what we are facing we will decide as a group someway to stop them." Amber decided, sticking to the usual pattern for how Alpha Force faced their baddies.

"It is how we have always done it in the past," Li concurred and was silent for a minute.

"But what about after that though?" Li asked again, a lot less certain of the answer this time. "The whole world now knows about Alpha Force and thinks we are the villains, we need to find someway to clear our name right?"

Amber was haunted by the question and turned her head to survey the darkened landscape passing by her window.

"I don't know Li, I guess we can try and redeem ourselves by dredging up the Interpol and other services cases that we were part of. Although I know we were pretty careful to try and be kept out of them, so that may prove difficult."

"The UN would vouch for us, even Camilla might back up our claims." Li theorised quietly, not wanting to mention her name too loudly with Alex in the car.

"I'm sure she would," Amber confirmed, turning back to face Li with an odd expression.

"She used to call me for a while to ask about him, but after a while she just stopped. She moved on I guess, I hope." Amber admitted in the barest of voices, spilling the secret to Li she hadn't mentioned to anyone else, not even Hex.

Li was taken back by the sudden admission and she felt an unnatural wave of anger towards Alex for his selfish decision, the girl he had hurt. The feeling of abandonment had been strong in the group, but couldn't compare to the heartbreak of one young woman.

"Are we really ready to spring this trap Li?" Amber asked her own question of a friend.

"I don't know, maybe." Li conceded truthfully, "We just have to be strong for each other and trust in the plan that Alex has been devising with Hex."

Amber cracked a thin smile at the mention of their two planners.

"Who would have thought those two would get along, when we all first met?" She reminisced, thinking back to their tensions on an Indonesian island.

"Who would have thought that Hex and you would get along?" Li corrected, growing a cheerful, nostalgic expression of her own.

"We may have initially conflicted over a few things." Amber innocently euphemised their yelling and fighting.

"The sexual tension was so thick I almost wanted to borrow Alex's knife." Li exaggerated cheekily, with a roll of her eyes.

"To cut the tension right?" Amber checked, jesting with the other girl.

"Na, to stab both of you cowards for not confronting your feelings earlier." Li reposted, always quick with the strike and with the wit.

Both girls giggled quietly so as not to wake the lads.

"In all fairness, Alex always had a lot more in common with Hex then you did." Li teased, warming up to the much missed girl time with her friend.

"True," Amber admitted, thinking of how different she was from her boyfriend.

_We have always believed in the same thing and that is what is important, _she reminded herself.

* * *

><p>"No think about it," Li insisted, checking her mirror to confirm that the rest of the car was still slumbering.<p>

Paulo snored quietly in crescendo with Hex, who had only started snoring after having his nose broken on a mission, much to Amber's irritation. Alex was well conked out between the two, the trio completely tuckered out and to all effects, dead to the world.

Seeing they were both still very much safe to talk freely, Li carried on.

"They are both kinda introverted loners, two truly typical guys with their hard facades and stubborn determination. They both come across as warriors, but underneath that they both quietly care a lot and always put others ahead of themselves."

Amber agreed internally with Li's summation and acknowledged the thought with an accepting nod.

"So how are they different then?" Amber asked, nailing her friend for the harder analysis.

"They are both survivors, but I see it as almost a nature vs nurture thing; Hex had to adapt and overcome with his rough upbringing and background. He has got an angrier, darker side to him, a resentment of the unfairness in life that pushed him to survive and excel. His formative years shaped him into the man he is now, but with your help he is opening up a bit more and becoming more stable."

Li explained, outlining her thoughts on the hacker, which married up with a lot of Amber's discoveries.

"I think Alex's strength comes from a different place, perhaps it is his upbringing in the military culture or something more inborn, but he is more detached, disciplined. At the same time he feels he has to be Mr. Invincible because we rely on him" Li decided, with another careful glance in the rear-view mirror before she uttered the next sentence.

"We both know that he is capable of killing, coldly and emotionlessly when the need arises. It is pretty hard to train someone to do that though, so I have to think it is more likely a character trait he has received genetically from his father." Li detailed in contemplation of her companion.

Amber was a bit blown away by the in-depth analysis of the two guys in the back, she had obviously not given it as much thought as Li had. She was surprised to see the psychologist/philosopher side of her friend. Months lain up in a hospital bed had obviously given Li a lot of time to think on many things.

"What about Paulo?" Amber asked, anticipating another psychological profiling.

To her surprise Li just laughed.

"Paulo? He is a bit of something else, I could live a lifetime and never quite have him figured out." She admitted unashamed.

"He's different to the other two, he's not a warrior, not a fighter. He cares too much, but will always do what he has to so as not to let us down."

Amber agreed with that statement and considered the truth about her sensitive friend.

"And what are you Li." Amber asked her friend seriously.

Li shrugged at the question that had been plaguing her for the last few years.

"I don't honestly know," Li confessed in a subdued tone, "I guess I consider myself a warrior as well, trained in the arts of war and considering the good fight as my duty. Just a stupid blunt instrument you point at the target and watch it get destroyed."

The girl in the passenger seat recoiled like she had been slapped by her friend's insecurity.

"You're so much more then that Li," Amber reassured her sullen friend, "Fighting is just what you know best so it is how you relate to the world."

"I guess," Li conceded, not looking overly convinced.

Something at the back of the car thumped loudly and a shiver passed down Li's spine in anticipation of the certain ambush they hastened towards.

"That being said, I feel like we are walking into a battle and I can't think of anyone I'd rather have on my side." Amber warmly informed her driver, leaning across to have an awkward seated hug.

_But what happens once the war is over?_ Li contemplated sadly in the kind embrace.

* * *

><p>It was an Alpha Force, minus Alex that sat on the outdoors seating at the rendezvous point. The small diner was just already thrumming at 0745 and the group hastily ordered breakfast and accompanying hot beverages.<p>

Amber pulled a face at the little diner's pitiful excuse for a trim latte and pushed the bland drink away from her plate.

In the next seat round from her, Hex frowned at the tea he had spilled when the wobbly table jolted with Paulo's one-armed attempt to cut up his bacon.

The wounded man grunted in frustration and slipped his injured arm out of its sling to assist his efforts. Pain added its unique flavour to his noise as the movement buffeted his shoulder wound.

Li was the only one who was moderately pleased with her breakfast, she was tired from driving most of the night, but it was all justified for a decent fruit smoothie. The vegetarian quiche was also slightly above par, Li decided, resting her fork on the edge of her empty plate.

They were early for the supposed meeting, as anyone wisely should be.

Unfortunately, the party they were meeting was also early.

"Heads up, two burlies twenty-five metres out, approaching on my nine." Hex hissed sharply to the others.

Facing his direction from another side of the table, Amber called a target indication of her own.

"Foot-mobiles on your six as well, another pair about fifty away and looking suspicious."

Li felt her pulse rising as the numbers around them increased. Deliberate moving, professional- looking men in suits was never a good sign.

Instantly she started scanning her environment, cataloguing anything that could be used as a weapon.

"Hate to pile on the bad news guys, but we've got two black tinted Mercedes vans slowing down curb-side of us." Paulo announced apprehensively.

Fighting the impulse to spin his head and look at the vehicles and men coming up behind him, Hex instead carefully lifted his knife ever so slightly off the table. In the reflection of the shiny eating instrument he caught a narrow view of the synchronised decelerating vans.

Seated to Hex's left at the four-person, café style table, Paulo had the best view of the converging teams.

"Incoming," He whispered in warning to Amber, as the lead team came up behind her.

A heavyset man with a squashed fighter's nose cleared his throat from behind the woman.

Amber started to turn until she felt the unmistakeable hard circle that was pressed up against the small of her back.

She sat bolt upright and froze in place with rough pressure of the barrel on her spine, it felt cold even through the jacket she was wearing.

With Amber sitting at a ninety-degree angle off to his right, Hex could also see the pistol being held to his girlfriend's back and it was doing all sorts of crazy things to his head.

This was a mistake, He quickly realised, sharing the sentiment with a pointed look with his friends.

"Where is the other guy?" A voice bluntly demanded of her, glancing over only the four people at the table and punctuating his question with an extra push of the gun.

"Alex stayed at the hospital with his dad." Amber lied through gritted teeth, trying not to let up on the fear she felt.

"Hmmph," A second nearby voice snorted in mild disbelief.

"Was he the one I shot in Canada?" The coarse voice gloated.

"Yeah he was, but how many men did you guys lose there can you remind me? And was there a helicopter too?" Amber snarled, forgetting her current precarious position in favour of serving one back at the villain who had shot Steve.

At a right angle to her friend and the gunman, Li could see the tension mounting.

The aggressor's face went red with fury at the girl's snarky comment and his finger strayed towards the trigger guard of the snub-nosed .38 Smith and Wesson revolver.

The accomplice of the gunman moved in to stand on Amber's left hand shoulder, effectively placing a barrier between Hex and the pistol.

"Thanks for reminding me," The insidious man hissed menacingly, "Maybe I should even up the score by one and then take the remaining three to the boss."

In the observer seat further from the action, Paulo could only watch the build up to what was sure to be a disaster. Anxiously his gaze was drawn laterally to the second approaching pair, behind Hex and the vans that had finally pulled to a stop on the curb just beside them.

Behind Paulo and on the other side of the diner window, customers and staff went about their lives completely unaware of the situation developing outside.

The situation was quickly deteriorating and Hex looked helplessly at Li, hoping she had a solution.

Li gave him the slightest of nods, a nonverbal message to say that she would try.

Slowly and ever so carefully, she did two things; firstly she gradually raised her strong right leg to rest on the corner of Amber's seat, right beside her thigh. Secondly, she surreptitiously slipped the fork from her plate into her palm and concealed the object with her curled fingers.

"Lets all just calm down," Hex insisted loudly, rising from his seat to draw attention to him and provide Li with a diversion.

_I hope Alex's plan has made allowance for this, _He silently prayed.

Li took advantage of the distraction and exploded into action.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N- **Yes,I'm still alive and kicking, speaking of which…

Thought I'd add in a bit of a **warning** for this chapter, since I've gone pretty hard on the **graphic violence** in this one. Nothing much worse then what I've rocked in my previous stories, but just in high concentrations for this chapter. **I apologise for nothing** though, violence isn't pretty or neat like you see on the silver screen and I have always been dedicated to writing as realistically as possible.

I figure if you are already reading one of my stories you know a bit of what to expect anyway..

Enjoy.

**-Grey.**

* * *

><p>Li kicked out with her leg on the seat, using every once of strength she possessed and causing Amber to jerk sideways away from the pistol. At the same time she lunged forward with the fork and stabbed it as hard as she could into the weapon wielding hand.<p>

The large gunman screamed like a little girl, as the blunt tines of the eating instrument gouged violently through the flesh of his hand and lodged in deep between the metacarpal bones. Whether by reflex, shock or more likely severe nerve damage, his hand sprung open and the clunky revolver fell from his grip. It was followed by a fair quantity of the red stuff, which flowed in a pulsing stream from the impaled hand.

Li had no time to evaluate the damage she had caused with the fork, while she wasn't sure whether it had went all the way through his hand, she thought with grim satisfaction that it couldn't be too far off.

She abruptly cut off the high-pitched screams of agony with a swift knifehand to the ailing man's larynx. It was like she had cut his head off, the keen died in the villain's assaulted throat and he collapsed in a gasping, bleeding mess.

"Fork you," Li growled in pun of the occasion, an event that Paulo would look back on later and laugh about. Much later.

For a single terrifying moment, Li thought she had been shot and that was the cause of the monstrous pain in her flank. She frantically clasped at her side and upon feeling the indent, remembered her still unhealed ribs from Tokyo. Li took the barest part of a moment to embrace the pain that racked her body, having acknowledged her pain she was then able to accept it. Tabling the message of injury from her nervous system, she pushing aside the simple sensation and focussed back on the present.

Without sparing another thought on the probably mortally wounded man, Li turned to find her next opponent.

* * *

><p>Hex was already standing when Li overwhelmed the table with her action.<p>

The henchman standing beside him was frozen in shock at his dispatched colleague and was doubled over in an instant when an unbalanced Amber swung backwards and clouted him in the nuts.

This gave the hacker just the opening he needed and without a second's hesitation, he pointed his nearest side fist straight up. He quickly doubled up his grip on that weaker side arm and brutally smashed his elbow down on the back of the bent over foe's neck. His elbow savagely landed right on target; at the base of the skull where the head joins with the spine and it drove the recipient face down, first into the table and finally the pavement.

The assistance of weight, gravity and his second arm, generated extreme amounts of force for the attack. Understandably, there was little surprise in either Hex or Amber when they heard the grisly splitting of bone under the powerful strike.

Given both the location and force of the elbow, Hex concluded in an instant that something important had been severely damaged and the man was in a critical condition, if not dead.

Paulo was stuck behind the table when the fighting started; admittedly he had edged his chair out to gain him some room to move in anticipation of action.

He watched, feeling inadequate while first Li and then Hex with Amber's help, took down their unwelcome guests. As the hacker smashed his man face down into the table with a driving elbow, every item on the surface seemed to jump and Paulo found what was left of his bacon and eggs in his lap.

It was at this point he noticed the change that had come over the advancing reinforcements. The pair that was almost upon Hex hesitated at the treatment of their predecessors and another largely built man from inside the van rallied the enemy side.

"Get them!" He roared at the two already on the street, his face was masked in shadows and his pointed finger directed another three bad guys who climbed from the van.

The formerly formidable pair cut short their statue impersonation and continued their lunge at the group. Hex was busy detangling Amber from her chair and Li had already made a rush at the three closer men who had gotten out of the van. Paulo could see it was up to him.

Amber looked up from the ground just in time to see the rush of two men at her and Hex. Suddenly the lead attackers head snapped back in a gruesome explosion of blood and white ceramic, leftover scrambled egg stained the shoulder of his suit and he dropped to a knee clutching his face.

Paulo's face was the picture of astonishment; he still held his good arm aloft from where he had hurled his plate discus-style at the advancing twosome. Sharp fragments of the flower patterned plate were embedded in the wounded man's face and hairline, made all the more macabre by the streaking of blood and exposed flesh.

_Well, that was more effective then I expected, _he thought in amazement, reaching for Hex's plate.

Forgetting Amber for a second in favour of taking down the active threats, Hex charged for the uninjured opponent before he could get any closer to the table.

Amber whipped to her feet, appreciative of the reprieve granted by the cutlery and moved to finish off the wounded kneeling man. She ran straight at him and he was at such a height that her forearm caught him under the chin and her momentum did the rest. His chin rolled back over his heels and toppled backwards onto his butt. Amber followed through with the other hand in a shoving palm to his bleeding face, forcing the guy to keep rolling onto his back and coming to a stop only when his head contacted hard with the street.

The unlucky baddie who had taken a plate to the face didn't stir and Amber jumped up from her crouch to help Li with her multiple opponents.

* * *

><p>Hex had run straight into a front kick in his haste to stop the second of the advancing pair. His stomach spasmed in revolt from the hit and also probably the omelette he had eaten for breakfast, it felt like a size eleven boot was imprinted right into his guts. Hex gruffly tried to suck in air, while struggling not to fold his body in pain and in doing so lower his head.<p>

The living lesson for fighting; do not bend your back and drop your head, was still lying on the pavement a few metres away, taking his final few breathes.

Resisting the urge to clutch his seizing abdomen, Hex managed to keep both arms held high in front of him, protecting his head against the imminent follow up onslaught. An onslaught that of course had to come, with the sort of morning the team was having.

The suited attacker started with a stiff jab at Hex's head, before following it with a well-drilled jab, hook and cross combo. The first achingly split his eyebrow, but the other two the hacker wore heavily on his blocking arms, jarring them against his head.

Hex's already broken right arm strained in its splint and since it was right beside his ear, he could hear the grinding of bone ends as each blow rained on that arm.

Badly shaken by the punches, like he had just came out of a concrete mixer, he stumbled forward into his opponent and drove his bruised cheek hard against his opponent's chest. From this clinch his head was out of the swinging arch and he could now let his hands drop from the shoulder to seek out their opposite number. His foe did what was natural and pushed back aggressively against the tightly gripping hacker, forcing him back towards the café window.

Hex acutely became aware that his right hand was no longer gripping at his opponent's hip, indeed it would seem his lower right arm was completely unfeeling and unresponsive.

A familiar dread started to creep into him and his spirit faltered in the heat of battle, at the nightmare reality that he was facing. An unmistakeable yelp of pain behind him, sobered Hex up and returned resistance to his limbs, before he was shoved through the window. He crammed the lurking fears into a small corner of his mind and committed once more to the fight.

Hex brought the only working part of his right arm, his flexed bicep, up into the armpit of his enemy. Drawing hard on the crook's right arm with his left, he unbalanced his foe and actually stepped sideways towards the window. Heaving with his right arm, like he was doing the shot put, Hex shunted the other fighter sideways with his thrust.

The large window to the diner shattered in a crystalline hail of glass, as Hex managed to hurl his foe right through the structure, where he collided with a sturdy table inside. Chairs overturned and any remaining customers screamed and fled from the violent trespassers.

Seeing the man inside stir, Hex wearily crossed the threshold to finish the job.

* * *

><p>Li was struggling, three opponents at once was a huge stretch even for her.<p>

It helped that they were only going for a capture or knockout, she was decidedly less picky. The first man she encountered got his knee kicked right through to the rear side of his leg, an unfortunate injury that conveniently dropped him right in his friend's way.

Before Li could incapacitate him for good, she was hit from her blindside by one of the fullback physiqued thugs. His tackle caught her low and on the side of her broken ribs, a crushing impact that knocked the air from her lungs and landed her roughly on the concrete, with her attacker on top.

Li's body worked on autopilot and whipped her legs up to wrap around the waist of the man that pinned her. It would have almost been an intimate position, if it weren't for the fact that it was also the basic ground hold known as the guard in both Judo and Jiu-Jitsu. It was actually a place that Li often found herself in when practicing ne-waza or ground fighting in the Dojo.

It was an unusual position that she felt safe in, a place where she could do some real damage.

Not forgetting her ability to strike, Li slapped her large opponent's ear with a cupped hand, rupturing his eardrum from the overpressure and giving him something else to think about for a moment. The man on top yelled in hurt and brought one of his baseball mitt hands up to protect the ringing, ruined ear. Li continued the path of the defending hand until it wrapped across his throat instead, she then shrimped her hips out away from his, to create some space and align her body with the parallel arm. She then hooked her leg that was now at the top, over his head.

Li's body now lay at a right angle to her opponent's body, his captured arm running straight up between her legs and the centre of her body.

Having drilled this technique thousands of times on the tatami, her body already knew what came next. With the arm clamped tight in the crook of her elbow and the hand towards her head, Li sat back sharply, arching her hips towards the sky. The trapped arm hyperextended at the elbow with a sudden clap-like noise, the jarring release of the limb sent shockwaves through her clenched legs.

The wounded man in her grip quickly forgot all about his burst eardrum when his arm jerked back excruciatingly, with an unnatural, new range of motion.

It was then that Li bore the consequences of going to the ground in a multiple attacker situation.

* * *

><p>A savage boot caught Li just behind the ear and forcibly disengaged her from her previous opponent. Rolling and grazing along the coarse sidewalk with the power of the kick, she finally came to a thankful rest at the curb. Stunned by the blow, Li tried to collect her scattered senses and fought the growing urge to vomit and sleep. She hoped that if it did happen, it occurred in that order.<p>

Her vision felt slow and blurry, when she finally looked up to find her attacker. It was the third and final man who had slammed her and he was now deliberately stalking over to finish what he started. Retribution, for the three colleagues the girl had already dropped. Li tried to keep her eyes on the advancing threat, but her blinks seemed to grow longer in duration and difficulty, a dark shroud that became harder to see through.

Sound faded out from her ears and in the silent space between blinks, she watched a plate sail past her attacker's face, barely missing him. This gave the man reason for pause and he turned to face the direction the projectile had come from. Out of Li's vision, Paulo gave the distracted thug a rude hand gesture before searching the table for something else to throw.

The change in attention gave Amber the chance she needed, scooping a handful of loose soil from one of the potted plants bordering the café, she charged in.

Her angle of approach meant that she came up on his flank, the noise of her movement alerting him to face her at the last minute. Within a metres distance from her new opponent, Amber raised her arm and flicked her clenched hand sharply at his face. The gritty spray of dirt, blasted into the thug's face, stinging his eye and causing them to reactively shut.

Amber took advantage of his blindness and followed up with a quick jab at his throat. Unfortunately the blinding attack had made him drop his head and the blow glanced off his jaw instead. His fumbling hands caught her wrist and he removed a hand from his tearing eyes to swing sightlessly. Amber ducked the swing and pumped in an open palmed uppercut onto the same spot on the jaw she had just hit. Her blind foe spat blood as his jaws snapped together violently and he snatched her second wrist.

With both her hands tied up, Amber frantically started kicking, going for any target she could reach with a stomping instep. Knees, shins and groin all copped a battering before her opponent started pushing with his considerable mass, driving the girl back towards the road.

In the van behind her, there were flickers of movement inside, as more people became aware of the fighting outside.

The roadside, front door already hung open from where an attacker had departed in a hurry to help his friends. It was this doorway that the struggling pair was blindly heading. The well-built henchman overpowered Amber, forcing her back, straight into the first van beside the open door. She hit with a loud thump, distorting the bodywork between the front and rear doors. The crushing pressure on her arms held her in place against the vehicle and she felt something give in her elbow when they collided.

His body pressed against hers meant that she was unable to back up any further or advance forward.

_But I can still go down, _Amber realised, ducking as low as she could in the grip that held her. Her sudden drop pulled her handler down and face first into the metal, the crumpling of his nose created an understandable, reciprocal decrease in his grip strength. Amber yanked her hands down as she crouched, slipping them out through the natural openings in the human hand. Her recently broken arm, complained at the extreme movement, but complied.

With a deft side step, she was clear of her opponent and he blindly stumbled towards the cab, clutching for a girl that was no longer there. He stopped when his hands felt the interior hinges of the open front door and he turned around to back out.

That was when Paulo came out of nowhere and dropped a shoulder into the open door that Amber was already moving to slam.

* * *

><p>The van door had been fully open at the time of impact and therefore it had the maximum distance it could close on. The unlucky man in the way prevented the door from ever closing completely. Paulo had gotten a run up for the shoulder charge and the fire of adrenaline in his blood fuelled him. Accordingly, when the car door slammed shut under the combined force of both him and Amber, it did so with a huge amount of force, force that was almost immediately transferred into the object blocking the doorway.<p>

That object was human and the first point of contact for the recipient was low, at the top of the pelvis and lower back. The crunching collision slammed him up against the cab, leaving limbs poking out at awkward angles and causing him to look a lot like a spider caught under a shoe. Bone and cartilage crunched and shattered under the impact, there was no air left in his lungs to scream.

It was only an instant of crushing trauma, but extraordinary damage was done by the time Paulo stumbled back from the explosive door slam. The unfortunate man caught in the destructive metal vice, fell weakly to his knees, as his injuries rendered his hips and legs unusable.

Released by the pulverising squeeze, he slumped into the doorway and slowly reached inside the door pocket for a weapon. His red, bloodshot eyes were half closed in pain already, but he bravely retrieved a spare pistol.

Seeing that he was still a threat from the other side of the door, Paulo breathed a quick prayer for his own soul before reacting in the only way he could think. With his good hand he slammed the door a second time, crushing the man's chest and arms. Near his feet Paulo saw the legs shudder from the unforgiving impact and he caught the door as it bounced off the seated man.

He gave one final, merciful slam to finish the job and was slightly sickened by the small spray of blood that caught his boots. The door did not bounce back this time and instead stuck gruesomely into the mangled body that prevented it from closing. A half caved in chest and mutilated torso had deformed to somewhat accommodate the metal door.

Gore and serious injuries never really bothered Paulo too much unless he was the one who had to cause them. Regardless, he had no time to dwell on the messy death; quickly he scanned the area and couldn't see any more enemies.

His focus then returned to his friends; Amber was running over to Li, where she lay with her back against the second van, Hex was emerging from the broken window of the destroyed diner. He cradled his useless right hand and limped towards the others. Blood weaved a trail down from his torn eyebrow and framed one side of his face, contrasting strongly against his permanent white computer tan.

Paulo felt for his own injured limb and his fingers came away wet and crimson. Obviously his efforts had started his gunshot wound bleeding again. Wincing he pushed his little finger hard into the gauze until his single digit was literally plugging the leaking bullet wound.

_Ouch, ow, ow, ow, _he grimaced with each painful jolting step to meet up with the others.

* * *

><p>"Is she alright?" Hex asked grimly, arriving last to their impromptu meeting point where Li sat slumped against the stationary vehicle.<p>

"Li can you hear me?" Amber mumbled in alarm, at her friend's apparent lack of response. She shrugged over to allow Paulo to take the lead when he arrived and knelt beside them.

Carefully he lifted Li's chin off her chest, he was reassured to feel her hot, slow breaths, blow across his face. He frowned at her odour though and eventually noticed the small puddle of vomit he was resting a knee in. With a brief look of disgust he lifted his leg and placed it somewhere drier and less smelly.

_Well there goes her smoothie and my new Slacks, _he thought inappropriately, fighting his mounting fear with dark humour.

Paulo felt a slow pulse at her wrist, before starting to have an examination of her head.

Hex looked around nervously, at the silent streets and aftermath of their battle, sirens hailed in the distance reminding him of their fugitive status. Remembering one of the biggest components of their falling to pieces plan, he let his right hand swing down flaccidly, while he palpated his jacket to make sure the his phone was still in place.

Amber felt hot tears spilling down her cheeks as she watched Paulo gently slide a hand across her best friend's head.

Li groaned weakly when the young medic's hand found the boggy bruise at the back of her head. Paulo quickly withdrew his hand with a morbid expression, knowing what the abnormality might mean.

"It's not good," He concluded to his friend's, with sadness etched in his deep auburn eyes.

"Guys.." Hex started seriously, as the sirens grew louder, but his voice was drowned out by another sound.

The horrid rasp of metal on metal, as the sliding van door in front of them opened.

Crouched in the threshold of the door was a large shaven-crowned man, concealed in the shadow. His pistol however was not and with unwavering conviction it carved a line across the four friends, before finally settling on one.

Amber.

The deafening thunder of the weapon going off seemed surreal in the backdrop of the quiet streets, only the tones of distant emergency services provided background noise. It was a shot from point-blank range, an impossible target to miss and Amber lurched back into Hex's unbelieving arms with a vivid spray of blood.

The shooter took a step out of the van into the light.

He ignored Paulo and the cradled Li, who rested together against the front door and instead fixed his cold gaze on the shocked, paling girl he had just shot.

In the daylight his face was revealed to be a terrifying mask of barely healed wounds, four long vertical stripes that deformed his appearance. Ominously, they cut straight through the gruesome hollow where his second eye would normally sit.

They almost looked like the wounds of a big cat, but they were not, a human had made these marks. Taking in his scars, Amber disturbingly remembered her own nails carving the lines in his flesh, over a month ago in the first attempt on anyone's life.

He looked different without the blue windbreaker.

"Remember me?" The disfigured villain snarled, glaring at her triumphantly with his single good eye.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N- **Not long to go now, thanks for the reviews and enjoy.

**-Grey.**

* * *

><p>"Does anyone else want to get hurt or will we all come quietly?" The one eyed man quietly asked the group, wavering his pistol between Paulo and Hex.<p>

The hacker was far too preoccupied to answer; the bleeding girl spasming with pain demanded all his attention. Trapped in his worst nightmare, Hex called her name, whispering frantic promises in her ear and tried to keep her distracted while he felt for the wound.

Amber was doubled up in his arms, in almost a foetal position against his body and she gasped soundlessly in agony. It was like seeing a fish out of water, the way she desperately seemed to suck for oxygen and blow it out noiselessly through pursed lips.

Her skin was an unnatural dusky colour and her eyes had slid out of focus disbelievingly.

Hex turned her over in his arms so she lay facing up towards him, her thousand-yard stare not meeting his concerned gaze. Feeling the warm blood seep through the fabric of his trousers, Hex ran his good hand down her body trying to find where she had been shot.

A shrill cry of pain escaped her lips and she seemed to start breathing again, life surging back into her eyes with the exacerbation of pain. Hex instantly froze his investigation and looked to see where his hand had stopped. His palm was suspended right overtop the middle of Amber's left leg. Blood steady trickled from a small hole in her trousers, their dark colour preventing him from accurately estimating bloodloss.

It didn't seem to be spurting out though, which was a really good sign, maybe the bullet hadn't ruptured the femoral artery.

He turned back to her face when she managed to breath out his name.

Amber had been broken from the stunning surprise of being shot and was now looking up at him with sharp eyes that were still clearly marked with pain.

"Hex," She whispered again and he leaned in close to hear her better.

**BANG**

Another impossibly loud gunshot ripped through their tender moment.

The bullet cracked off the concrete and bit into the wall behind them.

Pleased to see he had regained their attention, the gunman spoke again.

"I would love to kill her, but I think the boss wants to do that personally." He smirked, happily eyeing the pain he had got to cause.

Hex's face was stony and he tried to rise from the ground to close with the psychopath. The weight on his lap and the insistent arms that wrapped around his neck prevented it though.

"No," Amber pleaded, "Stay with me."

Reluctantly he stopped fighting to his feet and waited further instruction. His eyes burnt with deadly intent at the shooter though.

"Get in the van now, all of you." The angry Cyclops ordered, his tone and demeanour leaving no room for argument.

Hex looked over at Paulo and received a defeated shrug for his trouble. Behind them a couple of the surviving combatants were struggling to their feet. The guy Hex had tossed through the window limped over to one of his comrades and carefully helped him to his feet. The assisted man clutched his shattered arm tightly to his chest and held his head at an angle from the heavy feeling of blood collecting in that ear.

No one else rose to follow the pair back to the van.

Ignoring his screaming wound, Paulo clutched up Li in his strong arms and gently slung her over his good shoulder. Across from him, Hex lifted Amber into a honeymoon carry, trying to support her injured leg as best he could. Slowly the two boys stepped up into the van and secured their injured friends, before finding a seat for themselves.

* * *

><p>It was the hardest thing Alex had ever had to do, to sit back and watch as his friends fought for their lives.<p>

At the gunshot, he nearly leapt up from his observation point to assault the vans, but some wiser part of him stayed his restless body. Settling back into his watchers position, his chest seized when he saw his friends being loaded into the van.

His plan seemed ridiculous and farfetched in light of what had just happened to the team, but he was forced to stick with it, simply because no smarter course of action presented itself.

Swearing under his breath, a line of harsh words that would have earned him a clip around the ear from his mother, he quickly packed up his gear when he saw the van start up. Stealthily he slid down the drainpipe of the building he had climbed, the rooftop had provided a disturbingly good view of the events.

Hitching the pack over his shoulder a little higher, Alex checked the electronic device in his hands to make sure he was still getting a good read, before getting into the car Alpha Force had been using the last couple of days. It felt decidedly empty without his four friends in it too.

_Hopefully there will still be four of them when this is over, _Alex grimly thought, starting the engine and double-checking his heading.

* * *

><p>"Stop her bleeding on the seats," Growled the man who climbed in after them, throwing a small first aid kit at Hex and violently slamming the door behind him. His gun sat menacingly in his lap, lazily pointed at the captives<p>

Clumsily and with Amber's help; he managed to strip back the clothing around the wound site.

Amber's knee was crooked and bulged in its skin, the small bleeding hole being an epicentre for the damage. Floating pieces of lumpy patella surrounded the bullet's entry wound, right where the kneecap usually sat. Amber turned away in disgust and horror at what was left of her knee; the sight sickened and terrified her.

All at once she wondered whether she would ever walk again and was finally able to truly empathise with what Hex went through over a year ago. The loss of a limb to a fit, healthy, young person seemed like one hell of a tragedy.

With a trembling hand, but infinite care, Hex unwrapped a sheet of gauze and let it drift gently onto the wound site. Amber stiffened with even the feather light contact.

"Being shot hurts like hell." She mumbled somewhat unnecessarily.

"I told ya." Hex weakly joked, trying to distract her as the van jerkily pulled away from the curb.

"You guys didn't believe me either when I told you that after Scotland." Paulo reminded them, keeping Li's head cradled, prepared to roll her over should she vomit again.

"Shut it." Their guard snarled lifting his weapon threateningly.

Paulo felt slightly offended by this reaction, but then he remembered how many of this guy's colleagues and probably friends, they had dispatched over the last month or so.

_He's well within his rights to be a bit testy_, Paulo granted the guy and nodded obligingly.

* * *

><p>The rest of their ten-minute journey passed in an uncomfortable silence, apart from the occasional soft noise of Hex reassuring his girlfriend and distracting her from his pain.<p>

The tinted windows of the van revealed little of their location, but Paulo could see the faint silhouette of distant mountains through the smoky glass.

All too soon they came to a stop inside a gated compound, the wide expanse of natural landscape suggested they were now several miles from the nearest town. As soon as the door opened Hex was busy taking in detail about the place. High white walls with a second pointed fence at the top, housed the sturdy wrought iron gate. The same solid wall surrounded the rest of the perimeter and it marked the boundary of a massive property that converged with the start of the Rockies.

A chilly breeze blew in from the cold mountains and stony peaks that formed a crown around the property. It made for a pretty decent fortress, hemmed in on all sides by the natural barriers of the relief. To get a vehicle into the section it was necessary to come up the road and through the security controlled gate.

Hex shivered, realising how hard to penetrate the compound would be and not for the first time he started to wonder if they had just entered their final resting place. He buried the thought deep beneath his façade of indifference, as he resolved to stay strong for the others.

_Right up to the end_, he promised, complying with his captive's wishes and picking up Amber once more.

Paulo was having more trouble with Li; she had started to come round and was groggily taking in her environment. Her legs still couldn't support her though, as Paulo stood her to test them and she eventually slumped against him once more. Staggering, woozily, Li linked an arm over his shoulder for assistance and slowly started to follow the direction Amber and Hex were being led.

The procession halted several times as she almost collapsed and finally two fresh, able-bodied henchmen took her under the arms and frog marched her along. Paulo would have gladly helped her if he could.

From her position in Hex's arms, Amber stifled a groan with each step, her leg felt like it was just about ready to tear off. Her eyes drifted back to see a small trail of blood she had left from the vehicle towards the main building.

Of all the things she had expected it was not a lavish townhouse, immaculately and tastefully decorated. It was almost southern in its style, large and white with a sprawling deck that extended most of the way out from the house. A pristine lawn and a conservative garden that her landscaper would have been proud of bordered it.

Ominously, as they approached the front porch she noticed irregularities in the lawn. Several huge mounds of dirt were piled up next to a series of freshly dug, long holes. The shovels were still posted in the piles, in anticipation of being needed again very shortly.

It took Amber a second to correct herself.

There were not several holes in the lawn, there was five, exactly five.

They were not holes they were graves.

* * *

><p>It was beside the graves they were ordered to stop and Hex reluctantly placed Amber on the ground. His strength was fading quickly just carrying her and he wanted his hands free in case an opportunity presented itself.<p>

"Well this looks like a promising meeting." Paulo muttered, unnaturally dark at the grim ground they stood on.

"Yeah well I don't know about you, but I don't plan on using the one dug for me." Hex growled out of the side of his mouth.

"I don't think we are going to get much choice in the matter Babe." Amber despondently moaned, reaching a hand up to caress his leg sadly.

"So we're just giving up?" Hex confirmed, in whispered outrage at his friends, his eyes blazed intensely with fury and sorrow.

"I don't see any other choice _Amigo, _escape doesn't look like an option and ditto for fighting our way out." Paulo desolately concluded, helping to set Li down to lean against one of the fresh piles of dirt. His soulful brown eyes swam slightly at the sight of her slumped helpless and he dipped a hand to softly brush a speck of dirt from shoulder.

"Well at least we will get to go together." Amber pointed out, taking her boyfriend's hand and smiling sadly up at him. She brushed his fingers gently and thought not for the first time how lucky she was for her present company.

"I don't really mind dying that much if I get to do it with you guys." Paulo accepted sombrely.

"Yeah," Amber sniffed, trying to stay keep a brave face.

"Knock it off you two," Hex berated the pair bleakly.

"I hope Alex had the brains to dump the stupid plan and get a head start running." He wished, crouching to meet his girlfriend's lips as movement blurred within the house as their host got ready for his grand entrance.

"He must have, but we still have each other," Amber assured him sweetly with another tearstained kiss.

Paulo tenderly stroked Li's head, wishing she were at least conscious to meet the man behind their misery, to meet their end.

"Help me up," Amber ordered Hex suddenly as they saw a man and his entourage emerge from the house.

"If I'm going to die, I'll do it on my feet, my one good foot. Whatever." She decided with fierce determination and ruining what could have a cool line with her correction.

* * *

><p>Alex stopped to rest with his back flat against the white perimeter wall.<p>

It had nearly killed him to get as close as he had, unseen while carrying his cargo. His chest and shoulders heaved from the effort, but he had no moment to rest with his friends in mortal peril.

The mountains and cold was his habitat, but it had still taken all his skill to navigate the narrow cliffy passes to get where he was. Coming from the mountains, his white snowsuit had provided him with the ultimate camouflage and meant there was little chance of him being spotted. With the perilous pace he had to travel at though he was now absolutely cooking away in the warm coat and trousers.

He was glad now to be finally able to remove most of it.

The clock was ticking and he nervously peeked over the high wall to see how things were progressing for his friends. The next stage in his modified plan was the most dangerous and could go wrong in any number of ways. Alex pressed his back against the cold stone, tried to get his breath back and think about banishing the colour from his cheeks.

He examined the large bundle at his feet one last time and took one final steadying breath.

_You only get one chance at this buddy, _he reminded himself, not needing to dwell on the consequences.

* * *

><p>Looking at his quarry out on the front lawn, the man in charge was slightly disappointed. Disappointed in both himself and the dirty band of youths that fouled up his property.<p>

He felt ashamed that he had once been caught out by this gang of nosey teens and that they had once effectively ruined his life. Multi-billion dollar assets all frozen or confiscated, an empire that spanned a nation placed under investigation. His once lucrative business ground to a halt in light of criminal charges against his name. His name, a famous name, once synonymous with power and success, now just a memory. One more thing he lost to the meddling group of do-gooders.

And now here the band sat, minus one, bedraggled, broken and barely alive in one case.

It seemed pathetic that this was the group that had broken his operation. This Alpha Force, a name he came to loathe the more he researched them, they were beaten and branded dangerous by the very countries they had called home.

While he was disappointed at what was left of the group for him to bury, Daniel Usher still felt some degree of satisfaction at the successful close of a yearlong plot.

He put on his most sinister of smiles and stepped down from the deck to greet his guests.

* * *

><p>"You!" Amber shrieked in surprise and outrage at the greying man walking across the lawn towards them.<p>

"You are supposed to be dead, but it was you all along." She accused with fury, struggling with being so upset, but unable to do anything to hurt him.

The man who killed her parents and almost succeeded in finishing her off now stood before her. The last time the group had encountered him; he had kidnapped Amber and left the fragile diabetic to die without her insulin. Only through the swift action of her friends had Amber survived.

There was truly noone else in the world more deserving of her hate.

"Hello Amber," He greeted her cordially, like she was an old acquaintance.

His tailored suit exuded power, his dark hair had gained a lot more grey since their last encounter, but his deep blue eyes still held a charismatic danger to them.

Beside her something had flared in Hex and the only thing stopping him from killing the man with his bare hands was the fact that to move, would leave his girlfriend unable to stand. The half dozen armed guards flanking them could also present a complication.

His good hand balled into a fist and he imagined crushing the villain within it. His fingernails dug deep into his own flesh and served as a further reminder of the pain this man had caused.

Even the mild mannered Paulo was looking ready to tear into the man, his jaw set in a stubborn look that promised vengeance for every innocent that had been killed. His thoughts dwelled on his mentor and colleague from Australia; he finally had the man accountable for it all within reach.

"Usher," He hissed as if they should have known all along.

"Oh no I don't go by that name anymore," The head honcho addressed them in a lofty tone.

"I can't because of you." His speech twisted darkly, laced with malice.

"But I have my own back now I think." He decided, regaining his composure and looking over his captives.

"One, two, three, oh dear four," He counted finishing with a pseudo-sad expression on the unconscious Li.

"But where is the last one? Where is Alex?" He asked seriously of the three awake members of Alpha Force.

Without warning, two of the security detail touched a finger to their ears and peeled away from the group to the other side of the compound.

The one-eyed head of security leaned over to whisper to Ulster, who's eyes glowed bright with words and his smile creepily stretched wider. Looking every part the evil demented businessman, he stepped forward to address the group again.

"No need to answer that, we found him ourselves." He maliciously teased.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N- **Bit of a delay in updates and for that I'm sorry, I've been busy furthering my repertoire and it involved a fair bit of time away from a laptop. Thanks for the reviews, one or two chapters to go here and then perhaps the survival guide at the end too.

If anyone has any ideas or requests for the survival guide let me know.

On a side note, another chapter for my Community fic should be up soon too, I haven't forgotten about it or you my readers!

**-Grey.**

* * *

><p>On the other side of the compound, a guard was busy kicking the crap out of a tall blonde haired young man.<p>

He rained down one savage punch after another into the face of the infiltrator and had to be pulled off his victim by the two identically dressed guards who responded to his call for help.

"Bloody kid tried jumping me!" The angry trooper accused gruffly, cradling a lump in the white beanie that covered his head. His angular face was set in an outraged scowl, as he relaxed into his restraining comrade's arms.

Garbed in their thick white camouflage parkas, snow fatigue trousers and beanie, the three men stood like soldiers and could have almost been clones.

Usher's security force consisted mainly of hired guns, ex-military from around the country, who were out of the services and now providing 'private security' to the less legitimate class of businessman. They were a mixed bag of disgraced soldiers to brutal criminals who now served as a mercenary task force for hire.

The weapons they carried, while not reflected in their attire, demonstrated their diverse nature, with each soldier using their firearm of preference. The mercenary who had been delivering the beating carried a scoped variant of the M-14 rifle, while his two companions preferred something more modern in the form of an M-4 and a HK-417 respectively.

The badly beaten youth lifted his head groggily to say something, but was cut off by a vicious boot from the restrained man; his friends forcibly dragged him out of kicking range. The assault rifles slung over their backs, swayed with the movement.

"Knock it off!" The superior of the two reprimanded the impulsive young soldier.

"The boss wants this one alive just like the rest." His other colleague reminded him severely, as they released him and took up an arm each on the new prisoner instead.

"Or what is left of him anyway." The first man sneered, giving the violent guard who had made the capture a disapproving look.

"Get back to your post." He sternly ordered the amateur and started dragging their new prisoner off to join the rest.

The rebuked security officer reached back for his rifle and reluctantly headed back to the outer perimeter wall, apparently still quite edgy about the encounter.

* * *

><p>"Boss," The returning pair addressed their employer, shoving the limp form of the final member of Alpha Force at his feet.<p>

Usher's number two; the man gruesomely missing an eye, lifted up the battered captive with one large mitt and dragged him over to slump in front of the last grave, the one beside Li's.

The boss's face light with obvious pleasure at what would be the tying up of the last loose ends.

Usher's initial attempts to have the group eliminated had failed, but he was almost pleased that it had come down to this final execution. The money he had wasted on mercenaries, assassins and thugs from all over the world seemed almost justified if only to have this end state and the opportunity to watch each of the pesky kids die.

"The whole gang is here now, noone left to save you." Usher observed with sick enjoyment as he started pacing the line of graves, each with a member of the team situated in front of one.

He walked the row, taking in each battered and broken hero with a considered glance.

Amber and Hex were first in the line from the left, standing defiantly with barely contained rage. The pair were resolutely staying strong together, their good hands' intertwined in support, despite the bleak back drop of the two graves behind them and the fresh soil piled beside the holes.

"Poor Amber, bad things just seem to keep happening to people you love don't they." Usher mocked her cruelly, stopping in front of the pair.

The girl looked ready to snap at him and would have had the words not cut so true. She steadied her brave face though and felt a rush of strength when her partner squeezed her hand supportively.

"And somewhere along the line she makes some friends, forged through hardship. More people to get hurt by being near her." The bad guy maliciously taunted.

"She even falls for the failure of a hacker, the cliché troubled kid from the rougher part of town." Usher continued, turning his nasty attention onto the man at her left.

Already an excellent orator, the evil man focussed his skills on putting down the group of misfits collected before him. A villain has to have his fun after all.

Hex was tethered to inaction by the smaller hand in his own and the menacing posture of the slung assault rifles that lazy pointed in his direction. Noone was getting any closer then they had to the maddened hacker, they weren't taking any more chances with the slippery group of friends.

"Shut up," Hex snarled in warning, getting pretty fed up with the harsh commentary that their enemy spouted.

"Why DARPA would ever hire someone like you is beyond me, your skills are rudimentary at best and were continually put to shame by the hacker under my employment." Usher criticised, looking down his nose at the shabby young man.

Hex cut his protest off halfway at the villain's revelation, the truth in his words stung and not for the first time in the last year, he felt like he had let the group down. Gritty seeds of self doubt worked their way down his throat, weakening him from the inside.

"Here was me listening into your conversations and tracking you all for the better part of a month, without your so called tech expert picking it up." Usher monologued to the others, starting to passionately get into his condemnation.

"Not only that, but my expert left me with the all programs I needed to dig up every scrap of info on your little group, allowing me to feed a twisted assortment of it through my remaining media assets. With a negative spin on your works worldwide, the media was all to happy to alert the public to the dangerous, international threat known as Alpha Force." He continued gloatingly, caught up in the ingeniousness of his dastardly scheme.

Hex shook his head in disgust, as the full picture began to sink in and he realised how much work had been put into their downfall.

_This guy is bat-shit crazy and hates us something fierce, _he concluded somewhat chilled by the prospect. His shame at coming second best to another online fiend was diminished as he the complexity of the plan further unfolded to him.

* * *

><p>Next to Hex stood Paulo, who was still crouched over an unmoving Li. His shoulder bled freely and he seemed not to care about the trickle of blood that snaked its way down his hanging arm. He simply glared in a very un-Paulo like fashion at the dictator of their demise, as he continued his victory parade to stop in front of the South American.<p>

"For such an intelligent expert at computers, my own hacker sure was foolish though; leaving me all the tools to complete my revenge. He was such a naïve trusting young man when I meet him in prison, pity he had to die in such a shitty place like Mexico." Usher revealed, sounding almost wistful in his reminiscence, while simultaneously deliberately trying to offend the South American in front of him.

Paulo growled low in his throat at the disrespect to his continent and the many casualties of the mine explosion. He still felt very much responsible for the dozens of lives lost that day.

Springing from his crouch, the proud Latin man surged from a stationary, only to be checked by the cantankerous cyclops that guarded his target. With a rough shove, Paulo was backed up against the very edge of his grave and was separated from Li, as the second in charge moved between the two. He stood at a safe distance from the young man, choosing to be closer to the unmoving Li, where he was too far for the captive to try and bat away or reach for his weapon.

The large pistol that was a permanent fixture in the aggressive man's hand was levelled threateningly at Paulo's face. If Alex was able to, he would have identified the formidable weapon as the infamous .50 calibre Desert Eagle; a large pistol that fired a massive round and tended to compensate for certain male 'inadequacies'.

Usher looked unconcerned by the angry attempt on his life; indeed he seemed almost pleased by his ability to bait the youth.

He continued his inspection of the prisoners, pausing momentarily in front of the unconscious girl sprawled on the pile of fresh soil. The back of her head was noticeably swelling and rested on the apex of the mound, just short of the staked shovel, which stood like a headstone for the unmoving girl.

The only sign of life was the slow rise and fall of her chest with each breath.

"Li; the wet-woman, the blunt instrument, the girl who could never run from a fight. The violent young lady calling herself a noble warrior to hide the fact that hurting others just comes too easy for her." The criminal tutted disapprovingly, seemingly oblivious to his unhearing target.

"I didn't need a hacker to send an anonymous tip to the Japanese and warn them that they were going to have a guest on one of their whale 'research' vessels." He boasted simply, before continuing on his parade to the last member of the group.

* * *

><p>The newest addition to Usher's collection, lay lifelessly on his back.<p>

The youth's face was almost unrecognisable; a mass of purpling bruises and broken facial bones. One eye sagged in its socket from a shattered Zygomatic and the unfocussed eyes were barely visible from the swelling that had occurred all around them.

In his severely battered condition, the only recognisable features that remained of the boy were his light blonde hair and rangy physique.

_Beaten half to death; maybe more, seems an adequate description,_ Amber thought in a mingled shock and fury, looking down the line and seeing her friend in such a state.

"Last but not least, we have the plucky British lad who thought he could run from the past when things got too serious." Usher summarised, eyeing what was left of the leader with distaste. It was not a pretty sight.

"A military brat who could never escape his father's legacy; killing another human being isn't very hard at all is it Alex?" He asked him condescendingly, crouching to meet the level of the boy.

The groggy blonde in front of him weakly lifted his head and a thin trickle of blood escaped his swollen lips as he tried to speak.

Usher grinned evilly and stood back up, not caring to hear the whispered hollow threats or perhaps the pitiful begging of a broken man.

"I learnt three things after faking my own death and starting again, Alex." Usher shared, gesturing with a come hither motion to the two guards who had brought him over.

"Money equals power; with enough money you can do anything." He started holding up his thumb counting it as number one.

The two guards hooked under the injured Alpha Force leader's arms and yanked him up to a kneeling in front of his grave. He resisted the motion feebly, providing little trouble for the stronger pairs of hands.

"You can't run away from who you are and what you are best at." The antagonist continued, ticking off his second idea with one hand, while reaching inside his tailored suit jacket with the other.

"Finally, if you want a job done right, sometimes you just have to do it your self." Usher delivered his third and final lesson, drawing a small pistol from his suit and aiming it directly at the supported man's head.

Alex's electric blue eyes recognised the pistol in silent detachment from reality, as a Glock-19, a more compact version of the Glock-17 and a reliable sidearm favoured for its easy concealment.

Usher cocked an eyebrow and ripped a short evil grin at the collective cries of rebellion from the rest of the captured group.

Hex was punched savagely by one of the three remaining guards and dropped to his knees in defeat, his short-lived attempt at overthrowing their subjugators cut off abruptly. Amber toppled over beside him with out his support; landing painfully on her already wounded limb and crying out her doomed friend's name.

Paulo sobbed silently in frustration at the pistol at his head, promising death for his movement.

The three sets of desperate eyes could only watch in disbelief.

The prisoner facing his execution finally managed to find a rasp of voice, his disfigured face twisting grotesquely from the effort until it held little semblance to their friend.

"No.." he whispered in a strange, almost silent plea.

* * *

><p><strong>Bang!<strong>

The gunshot overpowered all other noise in what felt like the whole country.

The shell-shocked Alpha Force watched on in infinite shock and horror, as the lifeless corpse of the skinny blonde man shuddered with the single round to the head. An impossibly fast piece of lead punched straight through the unfortunate youth's skull leaving a dark hole no bigger then a small coin. His head snapped back in an instant from the transfer of force and the men holding him allowed the mortally wounded to fall backwards into the pre-prepared grave.

The quiet leader, the consummate survivor, the eternally strong Alex had just left the group and entered the open earth.

Amber gasped for air, her lungs coming up dry and finding only the bitter taste of gunpowder. Usher had taken everything from her, a trend that was looking to continue. inconsolable rage wrestled with her grief for dominance.

Hex fought for his feet and received a pistol-whipping across the jaw for his brave effort. The rough hit tore skin from the angle of his jaw and he dimly felt teeth chip from the force, as red spots exploded in his vision.

Paulo simply hung his head lower in shame and sadness, paralysed by the threat of the delivery system of death that was trained on his head. Silent tears ran down his tanned face at the futility of it all.

One player was overlooked in this dramatic preceding and the owner of the raised weapon by Paulo's head suddenly disappeared with blur of movement.

Paulo snapped his head across in time to see the second fatally wounded man of the day descending into a grave, as his one eyed sentry was caught by surprise.

On his blindside, the actually conscious Li had rolled with the speed she was so famous for and had dispatched the unwitting villain in a simple, but deadly fashion.

The shovel that had been stabbed into the soil just behind her, had gained lethal momentum when she clutched it up and spun like a tornado across the mound.

Paulo could see for a split second that one of the long edges of the digging tool was now firmly embedded in chief of security's face. The amount of shovelhead that was no longer visible gave testament to the severity of the injury and speed Li had generated.

All eyes turned on the girl who had struck so quickly without hesitation or remorse, all guns instantly followed.

No one fired as the perpetrator lay still once more on the mound of soil; her eyes bright and attentive, her grave filled by someone more deserving.

Li smirked her thrill seekers grin at the standoff, daring anyone else to come closer.

"Li!" Paulo, Hex and Amber all gasped at the same time, her sudden reappearance to the equation almost dwarfing the execution of their dear friend.

"Yeah I got one hell of a headache, but apart from that I'm pretty much all spades." She quipped half-heartedly, desperately trying to hide the hurt in her chest and small voice demanding she take further action.

Headache was an understatement; it felt as though she was the one with a garden tool in her skull not the cycloptic bloke.

Li had drifted in and out of consciousness for most of the journey to the compound and it had only been during Alex's capture that she had finally been able to secretly cling to wakefulness. Through half closed eyes she had surveyed the situation as it had developed and noticed several interesting things, one of which being the relative little attention directed at her.

Feeling another wave of dizziness hit her, Li fought the impulse to close her eyes and instead fixed her crooked smile on her friends.

"Did you really think I'd spend the last moments of our adventures together unconscious like a sissy?" She rallied the others, filling her slightly shaky voice with bravado she didn't particularly feel. Her secret observations had still given her a quiet confidence and hope that the others lacked.

Amber smiled grimly at the thought that at least her best friend was awake to witness the end, she just hoped it would be quick, because already the pain of losing Alex was too great to live with for very long. Her bullet wound felt slight in comparison to the sensation of something deeper suddenly disappearing forever.

Selfishly, she almost hoped to be next so she would not have to see any more of her friends die. Especially not him; if Hex was killed before her, she was pretty sure the grief alone would be enough to snap her mind and end her life.

It was not Amber's lucky day, not by a long shot.

Usher was equally shocked as the rest of the group by the sudden removal of his second in charge, to his credit, he recovered well.

Re-establishing his evil façade, he focused on the recently revived girl.

"Well I guess that decides who is next." He lightly deferred and his two henchmen moved from Alex's grave to secure Li.

While one man kept a watchful eye over Hex and Amber, a second pair of guards anticipated trouble and moved to pin the highly combative Paulo's arms. He fought every instant of their contact with him, snapping with his teeth savagely and even trying to recklessly headbutt his handlers.

A swift clout across his head seemed to bring him calm and he slumped in defeat and confusion as he saw Li passively allow herself to be guided to her knees.

Given her Shinto philosophy on things, Li understood and accepted the possibility of death peacefully, she slowly complied with the security officer's demands.

"Li.." Amber sobbed distraughtly, hiding her face in Hex's chest. Watching Alex had been to much for her and she was certain she couldn't watch as Li was taken from the world.

The silent hacker for his own part received Li's calm expression and gave her a discrete nod of approval that spoke the world between them. He buried his own doubts and threw up his stoic street face in defence.

Avoiding Paulo's despondent eyes, Li determinedly drowned her growing fear in an ocean of bushido centred thoughts and resolutely awaited her fate.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N- **Yes I know we are all shocked and outraged after the last chapter, but wait for the reveal ;) One final chapter after this as the conclusion and then maybe a survival guide too if you are lucky. Enjoy.

**-Grey.**

* * *

><p>"Please, take me instead." Amber begged Usher, who turned to contemplate hr suggestion.<p>

Hex reached over to keep her from trying to rise, but she fought his attempts to quiet her.

It was a terrible compromise for Hex to make, to try and prevent his brave girlfriend's sacrifice. He knew however that there could be no bargaining with this villain; he intended to kill the lot of them, there could be no survivors.

"Hmm an interesting and noble proposition," Usher remarked, scratching his cleanly shaven chin in thought with the barrel of his pistol.

Li shook her head frantically, adamant that the switch should not take place. Li figured that she was more prepared, ready for death should it come and able to embrace her fate without regret. Looking back she realised that she could be proud of the life she had lived despite its short duration. The time she had spent in Alpha Force and the fulfilment she had felt from the good they had done, struck her as the highlights.

"While not without appeal, I am going to decline your offer Ms Middleton." The crooked businessman informed Amber formally, as if he was rejecting a flawed sales pitch.

His dark emotionless eyes fixed on hers with a clinical malice," I intend to save you for last" He coldly informed her.

"I dare say it shall be a lot simpler then getting some unreliable flunky to do it." Usher added, sending a disdainful look at the hole that contained his former second in charge.

"Certainly easier then the elaborate set up I had to organise to dispose of your do-gooder parents." He griped scathingly, knowing the effect his words had on the girl.

"But first things first, I must get rid of this pest first," He gestured with his weapon to the other girl who was held on her knees in front of a grave.

"Say goodbye to your friend." Usher snarled, mirroring his last kill and raising his pistol to line up with Li's face.

* * *

><p>"Why can't I go first?" Hex suddenly demanded theatrically, splitting the tense scene and giving the executioner reason to pause.<p>

The unexpected move drew Usher's attention.

"I probably deserve the privilege," Hex continued, fighting off Amber and getting to his feet.

He took a tentative step forward, his face throbbing from the earlier strike and freely bleeding. The guards made no move to stop the man, he was barely able to keep standing, hardly a threat.

"After all, I am the one who has been recording this whole conversation," Hex confessed in a triumphant slur, slowly reaching inside his battered and discoloured wrist splint to clumsily remove his cellphone.

"Using the same bugging and tracking program that you did, I've been recording your little gloating speech right from the start."

Usher's face flushed in fury at the sneaky trick that had been pulled right under his very nose. The moment was fleeting though, as he quickly remembered who still held all the cards.

"Clever," He conceded, "But ultimately pointless. You must know that I will simply take the recording off your body the very next moment after I kill you." He sneered, turning on the spot to re-aim his pistol at Hex.

The young hacker laughed, actually laughed, a dry humourless sound at the imminent threat to his life.

"Oh I'm not recording it. An outside source is listening in on my palmtop, they are the one recording it." He corrected with relish, struggling through the words a little with the swelling to his face.

"Who?" Usher snarled stepping closer and jabbing the young man right above the heart with the business end of the pistol.

"Can't you guess?" Hex hissed, antagonising the villain and refusing to break off his hard stare.

From further down the line the still restrained Li spoke up.

"Did those bruises look a few days old to you Paulo?" She asked loudly, a sly smile lighting her face as she waited for the penny to drop.

Something in Usher's head clicked as the final pieces all fell into place. He whirled to the face the grave of the first Alpha Force member.

* * *

><p>"It's a set-up," Usher growled to his men, flustered and on the back foot for the first time that day.<p>

"Sweep the perimeter, find the-" Was as far as he got issuing orders.

The rest of his message was cut off by a distant thunderous crack from somewhere in the surrounding snow-covered cliffs.

Usher jolted from a massive impact and staggered back to his knees. Weakly he placed a hand to his screaming chest and when he raised his fingers for inspection; they came away deep scarlet.

The gathered security force forgot all about their prisoners and immediately dived for cover. Those that had seen action in any conflict zone felt the familiar tremor of fear that only came with receiving accurate sniper fire.

The powerful 7.62mm round had punched a distinct hole straight through Usher's chest and messily exited out his back in a gory opening that was much larger then the entry wound. Ragged strips of skin muscle and fabric hung from the ragged hole, like the worlds most grotesque living cave. Fountains of blood poured forth from the new cavity, saturating his expensive charcoal suit.

Hex observed the light flicker in his eyes and his lips open and close ineffectively with no noise. In seconds the flame of life is his pupils was snuffed, extinguished.

Daniel Usher was really dead this time.

Amber watched the man, surprised by the sudden turn of events, but oddly satisfied as well. _It was quicker and much better then that despicable man ever deserved, _she reflected sombrely.

The half dozen remaining guards scanned the distant ground nervously, trying to spot the hidden shooter. Li and Paulo had both found themselves inexplicably free from restraint as their respective handlers had dived for cover from the hidden threat.

Hex moved back to Amber, unafraid of the mystery sniper, he knew it was not them that were being targeted for once.

"But how? Who?" Amber whispered in confusion, as Hex helped her back up to a one legged standing.

* * *

><p>The sniper blinked frantically through his scope after he squeezed off the crucial shot.<p>

The shell casing of the fateful round, clinked lightly out of the M-21s ejection port and hissed softly in the surrounding snow. His remoistened eyes quickly shut again in relief after his hit was confirmed centre of mass, by the stumble of his target and the accompanying red spray.

The pounding of his heart and the fatigued shake of his muscles had made the shot more difficult then he had first anticipated.

With the important moment passed, he took in a deep breath of crisp mountain air and pushed up the brow on his pallid, arctic grade beanie, revealing a fringe of lightly blonde hair.

Despite the frigid mountain air blowing over his prone form, Alex felt far warmer then he should given the circumstances.

The extreme cold weather, white jacket and trousers that allowed him to blend in when he entered the compound, had left him feeling hot and sweaty after his frantic climb to a decent sniping spot.

Speed had been of the essence and he was lucky to have managed to get back to his chosen elevated vantage point, just over 200m away. The whole way he had been listening into the progression of events on the ground, via an earphone from Hex's palmtop, which was snugly strapped to his side.

With the rapid downwards spiral of conversation and the executions drawing closer, he had madly rocketed up the slopes, scraping himself countless times on the sheer rocks in his haste.

Alex had barely made position when the first shot was fired and he had witnessed through his heaving scope, as the decoy took the bullet meant for him.

It had been a backbreaking effort carrying the young hitman from days ago in the carpark to the edge of the compound for the set-up. After being trapped in the 'jammed' boot of his own car for several days, Alex figured the badly beaten young man probably appreciated the fresh air. The decision two days ago to cram the unconscious man into the back of their vehicle had not been one he had made lightly.

The most convincing argument to do so was the vague likeness in appearance that they had shared, Alex figured with all the heavy bruising, the less morale man could serve as a decent doppelganger in a pinch. Hex must have thought so too, since he helped Alex stuff him in there and draw attention away from the fact that they had done so.

Remembering the friends that were never far from his thoughts, Alex peered down his scope once more and listened intently to the bud in his ear that provided him with audio.

* * *

><p>"The guy Usher shot wasn't Alex, it was our sleazy would-be hitman from a few days ago that looked a little bit like him." Hex explained simply to his girlfriend.<p>

Amber's jaw dropped in astonishment as she realised what a sneaky piece of deception they had just pulled off.

"So then Alex is..?" She concluded excitedly.

"Still alive and I assume is the one who just capped Usher." Hex finished for her, giving the most recent corpse a nudge with his foot.

"Was this all part of another plan between the two of you?" She accosted him, suddenly moody at having been left out of the loop.

Hex raised his hands in defence, knowing his partners penchant for delivering a good slap or punch to the shoulder when she was wound up. The still edgy guards politely ignored the domestic going on behind them and focussed on trying to regroup and establish a course of action.

"Just the part about using that guy as a decoy, obviously we didn't think he would be shot. The whole thing was more of a plan 'B'." Hex insisted, trying to placate the beast.

"Uh oh, Hex is in the trouble" Paulo commented in amusement, able to forget the extremeness of the situation with the slice of normalcy.

"Speaking of the plan and trouble," Li was reminded, looking around at the uncertain looking band of mercenaries that were spread across various pieces of cover and concealment. The fear of further sniper fire had them all hunkered down with itchy trigger fingers.

Hex and Amber were preoccupied with their current dispute, as it often was with those two, the rest of the world ceased to matter. This left Li to carry out the next stage in the plan, which was anticipated to ensure their continued safety.

"Hey Assorted Mercenaries," Li addressed the armed men in a loud voice.

_Ouch,_ she noted internally, _yelling does not help my headache at all._

"Your boss is dead, pretty safe to say your employment has just been terminated. You can try kill us if you want, or you can get a head start on your running before the SAS turn up here in like five minutes." Li announced in ultimatum at a volume that made her dodgy ribs strain with the effort.

Any gun for hire worth his salt knew about the legendary British Special Forces unit. Indeed some of the gathered group were ex-troopers or had attempted selection for what was one of the worlds greatest fighting units (after the NZSAS -IRNW). Accordingly, the threat of the Special Air Service and an unknown sniper was enough to rapidly start clearing the compound of all armed personnel.

Li and Paulo turned to each other with small smiles at how quickly that had got the gunslingers moving.

* * *

><p>The original plan had been to gain information on the whereabouts and identity of their hidden foe, to record some evidence and then have the SAS swoop in for the save. It was a plan that had to be quickly modified when the threat level increased to the group.<p>

Unsurprisingly, when 'The Regiment' had heard that a mysterious paramilitary force had inured their Company SgtMajor, they had quickly mobilised a formidable attack team to retaliate. It only took a short phone call from Alex, when he discovered the enemy stronghold, to get the Special Forces unit moving in the right direction. Gathered intelligence and radio chatter had meant that the specialist force was already in country and it became only a minor readjustment for them to make it to the compound.

The arguing pair had finally stopped and it had obviously taken a lot of the formidableness out of Amber by the fact that she needed to be held up by Hex the whole time. She looked pale and drawn after only moments of yelling at him.

She was clearly still ropeable when she turned on Li and Paulo.

"Did you two know that wasn't Alex getting killed?" She accused the pair dangerously.

The couple shared an equal look of apprehension before coming clean.

"Well most of the injuries he had were obviously a few days old." Paulo explained the subtle difference that had not escaped his trained eyes.

"I noticed that too, but also saw a suspicious looking guard jumping back over the fence, after delivering the decoy." Li admitted.

Being assumed unconscious meant she was able to sneakily watch in a different direction. Years of martial arts had also left her with a fairly intimate understanding of how bruises develop and change over time.

To the guards it wouldn't have been as apparent since they didn't know how injured their prisoner was prior to being captured.

"By not knowing, you actually added a certain amount of authenticity to the act." Hex suggested hopefully, as if that fact should make her feel better.

It was the wrong thing to say.

Amber was reaching boiling point from the amount of clues she had missed and the unnecessary emotional trauma she had put herself through. Her eyes hardened and her lips were pressed tightly together, her hands on hips swore trouble.

Looking as though she had several strongly worded things to say, Amber suddenly winced and sunk back into Hex's arms.

Forgetting that she was supposed to be mad at him, she sent him a weak grin of appreciation, before hardening it into her usual scowl. Hex didn't mind, he'd always thought she looked kind of cute when she was angry, hence why he wound her up so often.

"First the hospital for my leg and then I am yelling at you guys so much." She growled in promise, through gritted teeth.

Alex chose that inopportune moment to reappear, rifle slung over his shoulder and a shy smile fixed on his face.

"Especially him," Amber amended, narrowing her eyes on the man, like a sharpening crosshair of her own.


	25. Chapter 25: Epilogue

**Epilogue.**

* * *

><p>In line with common sense and Amber's demands, a hospital was the first port of call for most of the group.<p>

Li, Paulo and Amber arrived at the nearest hospital, to the shock of the staff that were working.

Given their threat status, police and higher agencies were immediately called and guards posted to their separate rooms.

While all three were being treated, events were unfolding for the rest of the world to witness.

Dental records confirmed the body of one Jonathon Usher, after his corpse was found abandoned on the doorstep of one of his rival news agencies. The incriminating evidence found on the man and further information uncovered in the hours following his discovery, revealed the full story for the public to see.

The guard was removed from the three Alpha Force member's rooms following what amounted to a full pardon from federal intelligence agencies. The team took the chance to reconvene as the injured were all moved to one larger room that was shut off from the public.

Under a drugged up Amber's lucid insistence, Hex finally had his arm examined and cast once more. The examining Doctor told him that his function would probably never fully return now, in light of the further injury it had recently sustained.

It was a sad truth for the young hacker to hear and in his stricken state he tried to distract himself by dividing his time between Amber and his most recent acquisition.

Hex and Alex had pulled a final sweep of Usher's mountain fortress before anyone else got a chance and it had paid off.

The criminal's personal laptop turned out to be an absolute goldmine in the talented hacker's care and the information flowed freely under his one working hand.

His eyebrows were lost in his hairline at the first major discovery; the doctor stitching up his split brow was not impressed.

Sifting through countless files, a screen name had jumped out at him. One that had been helping him since Solambia and one that he had long considered a friend.

NiteWatcher, he discovered was the online name of the hacker that had been under Usher's employment. The implications of this were huge, meaning that their greatest enemy had fingerprints all over Alpha Force's biggest two missions in the last few years.

While he was going through the detailed files on each of them and systematically deleting them, another name caught Hex's eye. With a cheeky smile, Hex dragged the small file in question over to his email and attached it to a short email to a friend.

The rest of the data he found, regarding overseas holdings and nefarious deeds he compiled into one folder and sent to his own media contact.

* * *

><p>Showered and freshly bandaged, the group met up again two days later. It was the first chance they all had to sit down together without doctors, nurses or law enforcement officials interrupting.<p>

Li, Paulo and Amber occupied a bed each in the bland hospital room. Across the hall, Alex's dad slept peacefully after his flight from Canada to be at the same hospital as his son. Alex was still glowing from seeing his dad again and he smiled happily as he walked back into the room.

Awkwardly with his slung arm, the hacker followed him and shuffled into the bed he had decided to share with his girlfriend. Considering the small size of the bed, her irritation may have been genuine and well founded.

"I think we are good." Alex announced to the group, pocketing his new cell phone after speaking to yet another international security agency.

"Just like that? We prove Usher was alive, behind the smear campaign and all is forgiven?" Amber confirmed casting a doubtful look over Alex and Hex, who had had been the only two members able-bodied enough to start addressing the situation.

"Well not quite that simple, but pretty much." Hex clarified.

"It seems like when the allegations and accusations died down many of the international groups we had worked with in the past jumped in to vouch for us." He explained, simplifying the complex matter for the sake of brevity.

"Nice of them to stick up for us earlier when we were labelled terrorists." Li grumbled.

"It is a harsh title and none of them probably wanted to acknowledge involvement with a group like that until they saw which way the tower would fall." Paulo dozily considered, using possibly the worst analogy he could with terrorism in mind.

He would later blame it on the morphine.

"So that's us off scot-free then?" Amber summed things up.

"Not quite," Alex frowned, "Still a lot of hard questions from some people pretty high up and a few corpses in our wake to explain."

"And Li won't be invited back to Japan any time soon." Hex winced, remembering the less then forgiving attitude the Japanese displayed over the phone.

"Meh no biggie, I never liked sushi much anyway," Li coolly disregarded her new status as persona non grata.

It was Paulo surprisingly who asked the question.

"So what next for Alpha Force?"

* * *

><p>There was a long pause as each of the members considered the question.<p>

"Not much use in the group for a one armed guy." Hex finally answered, trying to sound as bitter as possible about his situation. The miserable fact had been weighing on his mind since his further assessment by the specialist.

Amber rushed to reassure him, placing her arms around him and shooting a challenging look around the friends.

"Noone is saying that Hex," She declared, glaring at the others as if to dare them to argue.

The rest of Alpha Force quickly nodded their heads in a show of agreement under her scrutiny.

"Yeah, thanks guys," Hex mumbled despondently, still refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"But I can't keep up with you guys or be out in the field with only one functional hand. I would be more of a liability then a help" He explained sadly, eyeing his unresponsive right hand that had betrayed him.

Amber squeezed him tighter on their small bed to let him know that she didn't think that would be the case.

There didn't seem to be a right thing to say that and the rest of the group fell into silence once more.

Amber broke it this time, hesitant and uncertain in a manner so unlike her.

"Uhh I don't know if I can keep doing this if Hex is not there anymore." She confessed softly; it had become more apparent over the years how much she relied on him for strength.

Hex lowered his left hand to her uninjured thigh and gave it a gentle supportive caress.

"Fair enough," Alex mumbled, it felt like he had to swallow a cricket ball to say it.

Li nodded in acknowledgement too, not quite ready for words again, but understanding their position.

"Maybe it is time I threw in the sheet too," Paulo concluded with a sullen smile to the remaining members.

"Towel Paulo, it is throwing in the towel," Li corrected his expression with a tiny smile despite the tears that threatened to fall.

"Whatever type of linen Li," He dismissed before moving onto his main point.

"I was never much for violence and I've got my career on the ambulance to think about." Paulo justified a little ashamed.

"So that's it? Alpha Force is over?" Li addressed the group as a whole, sounding more then a little upset with her friends. Her voice was raised and her face red with emotion.

"I guess so." Alex conceded having the last word in the matter like most things. His expression was not as downcast as the rest, in fact he seemed oddly positive about the news his group of best friends were calling it quits.

"But I think you guys are being a bit melodramatic," He accused with an easy smile.

The barbed looks Alex received from the girls seemed to indicate they disagreed with his opinion.

"Oh are we?" Li responded in a low dangerous voice.

"Yeah you are," Alex insisted, moving so he stood central to his friends.

"So we decide to stop doing missions together and retire from the international vigilante work to enjoy what we still have. Big deal, that doesn't mean we still can't all be close friends like always and hang out." Alex passionately explained like it was common sense.

"Yeah, but we are all going to be busy starting our lives around the world." Paulo countered darkly.

"When has that ever stopped us keeping in contact before? This isn't the bloody dark ages, we all have email, Facebook and cell phones." He reminded him, picking to pieces his friend's argument.

"What about all the people we were helping?" Amber put forward, thinking of her parent's commitment to the cause and feeling a little like she was deserting their memory.

Hex answered this one, gesturing to each of the group in turn as he mentioned their part to play.

"Well we will still be helping people just separately and in our own ways. Paulo on the ambulance, Li for Greenpeace, Alex in the army, you in the courtroom and me by developing new technologies with the DARPA."

After a lengthy conversation, Hex had been assured he still had a job when he returned.

Alex hid a grimace, as he remembered that he hadn't mentioned his actual plans for the future that extended beyond joining the military.

_No time like the present, _he thought resolutely looking around his friends, who looked decidedly happier after having hashed out their new situation better.

"Besides," Alex spoke up again, this time with a bit more enigma to his words. "I wouldn't say Alpha Force would be completely gone for ever either..."

* * *

><p>"What are you getting at Alex?" Paulo asked him curiously.<p>

The young Brit's smile crept slightly larger and he leaned in conspiratorially towards his comrades.

"Well I was thinking about how good Alpha Force was, for both us and the world in general and I asked myself; why couldn't there be more people like us out there helping others and standing up for the suffering on a larger scale?"

Li bit her lip on contemplation of what he was considering.

"What are you suggesting?" Hex cut to the point, having drawn a natural conclusion from Alex's words and wanting to see if their ideas married up.

"What I was thinking about was why not help build Alpha Force into something bigger? Think several small teams undergoing training or performing tasks to help people, simultaneously worldwide." Alex elaborated, his eyes shining with excitement.

"Isn't that basically what the United Nations tries to do with the allied nation's armies?' Li pointed out, unwilling to allow the thrill growing inside of her to escape without getting more information.

"It is," Alex conceded the point, but was already primed to explain. "But the difference would be that like the original Alpha Force, these teams wouldn't be confined by the boundaries of all the red tape and bureaucracy."

Paulo started to nod his head as he saw the picture that Alex was painting.

"And rather then relying on soldiers, it would consist of groups of international teenagers. It would empower the next generation to do something about the problems in their world and their age would make them more adaptable to situations, where they would also generate less suspicion then a group of adults." Alex continued, taking his lesson from their own experiences.

"Hmm I like the idea Alex, but it seems like it would take a lot of planning, training and financial backing." Hex pointed out.

"Yeah I had kind of hoped that maybe you guys would be willing to lend me a hand with the project when you were free." Alex sheepishly admitted to his friends.

"Quite presumptuous of you." Amber sniffed, turning to seek agreement from her boyfriend.

"I'm a busy guy." Hex replied casual and noncommittally.

"Eco-warriors don't get time off, Alex." Li responded with a straight face.

"I guess if there was some sort of hefty consultants salary." Paulo mused aloud, starting to break the façade of seriousness with his trademark giant smile.

Amber sighed loudly like it was a huge burden on her before speaking again.

"Well I guess we could spare a bit of fortune to help fund such a venture," Amber relented magnanimously.

"It would have to come out of Hex's computer game and hair care budget though." She decided with a phoney apologetic look to her partner.

"What?!" Hex exclaimed loudly, to everyone's amusement.

"Well that would be enough money to keep your project running for life." Paulo joked.

"Our project." Alex corrected happily.

"So where are you going to find candidates for this idea?" Li asked Alex once the laughter had subsided.

The slow Miller smile crept upon his face, before he answered her question.

"Well I heard about this ship called the _Phoenix_ and I also heard they after a new Watch Leader or two.."

* * *

><p>Three days later the group were at the airport saying their goodbyes, each had to get back to their own world.<p>

Sitting in the small restaurant in the departure lounge they shared one last meal and a drink or two.

Alex's dad, Steve who was flying back with his boy, gladly joined them.

Setting his knife and fork together on the plate, Alex reflected on another adventure with his friends and what had been an overcooked piece of steak.

The rest of the group chatted amiably and he was content to just watch and drink it in.

Taking another swig on the Corona he ordered with his lunch, he almost did a spit take at the shenanigans that unfolded in front of him.

Li's face was distorted in an expression of sour disgust after finally caving to Paulo's encouragement and taking a sip from the ominously white, frothy drink he had ordered. The cowboy grin was in full force at her reaction and he hastily shuffled his chair back out of range to avoid the likely violent repercussions.

On the other side of the table, Amber had caught Hex in a sneaky finger lock after she had caught him trying to mischievously steal a French fry from her plate. The hacker was on the edge of his seat to try and remove the pressure from his fingers being bent back, while at the same time uttering frantic apologies. After making several extreme and graphic promises of how he would make it up to her, she released the painful hold and playfully ate the chip from his fingers.

Steve like Alex seemed to stand somewhat back from the group and elected instead to watch the son he had missed so much.

His son blew back a mouthful of beer back into his bottle and tried to cover his mouth and nose so the others didn't notice.

As usual though, the group was very observant when Alex made a fool of himself and they gave him a decent ribbing.

"Jeez Alex, drink much?" Li asked him sarcastically.

"Some _hombre _just can't handle their drinks." A mysterious member of the group noted in disappointment.

"Very suave, Mr. Bond," The other British lad commented.

"See? This is why we can't go nice places," Amber tutted.

Alex just grinned in reply to their jibes and raised the bottle to his lips again to re-drink the same liquid he had snorted up.

He had missed these people more then he physically thought possible.

Steve chuckled beside him and broke up the outcries of disgust from the girls.

"Our flights are leaving soon, we better get moving." He reminded the group.

Collectively Alpha Force finished their drinks, Li adamantly refusing to partake in anymore of Paulo's Pisco Sour, despite his protests that it was a traditional South American cocktail.

Clutching up their various bags, the group headed towards the final intersection before they split for their various boarding gates. Hugs were exchanged back and forth between members, with promises of keeping in touch and meeting up at Paulo's next month for a BBQ.

Paulo and Li split off from the others to head to their more Pacific destinations, Australia and New Zealand respectively.

* * *

><p>The final four left behind started their slow journey towards the United Kingdom departure gate. It was slow because both Amber and Steve were confined to wheelchairs. Amber of course scowled at the babying treatment she was now receiving in her cast leg.<p>

They finally reached Gate 21 where the father and son would be embarking.

A friendly flight attendant came out and wheeled Steve away to help the disabled man get boarded before the complication of other passengers. Alex gave him a small wave in promise that he would shortly follow.

Turning back to two of his closest friends, he noted their odd expressions. They both wore matching smiles with something else hidden too. Amber looked a little bit teary and Hex almost too cheery, it was an unusual combination for the couple to be presenting.

Alex almost raised his guard at this, but gave his friends the benefit of the doubt.

"Mate," He acknowledged, stepping forward to clap a firm handshake with Hex before they mutually pulled it into a manly one-armed hug. They shared a couple of firm pats on the back as the extent of masculine, brotherly affection before breaking apart.

Amber was less reserved and pounced in her chair, dragging the unprepared Alex down into her arms, where she ensnared him in a tight hug. He felt the dampness of stray tears pressing against his neck, which was followed by a friendly kiss on the cheek.

Escaping from her emotional clutches, he felt his face would tear open from the amount of grinning he was doing. Alex figured he must have looked like a blonde-haired incarnation of the Batman's Joker.

His two friends still wore their enigmatic expressions as they bade him farewell.

"See ya Alex," Amber practically yelled, possibly deafening another passing passenger.

"Catch you round mate," Hex said, ever the typical casual guy.

"Yeah later," Alex gladly agreed, shouldering his daypack and turning for the gate.

He missed Amber deliver a sound slap to Hex's arm and engage him with a stern non-verbal conversation with her pointed scowl.

"And Alex," Hex called, picking up on her message and stopping their friend before he could leave. At his name the blonde haired man turned back briefly to his friends.

"Check your email when you get home, I sent you something you might be interested in." The hacker revealed sharing a secret smile with Amber.

Alex took in the knowing glance that passed between the amused pair.

"Thanks." He called before turning for the gate once more, unsurprised that there was some shared joke between the couple.

* * *

><p>The flight from America was long, but gave Alex a lot of time to just hang out with his dad. It was somewhat liberating for him to finally be able to talk to his father about his exploits in Alpha Force and Steve was just as eager to hear about them.<p>

In what felt like no time, they finally touched down on British soil and Alex had made the long drive back home.

Walking back into his familiar family home and the pair's emotional reunion with Alex's mum felt long overdue.

After hours of sitting, talking with his parents and numerous cups of tea, Alex was finally able to cut away to his room for a bit of time to himself. It seemed both sad and pleasant to find his old room exactly as it was when he had left it over eighteen months ago.

Slumping down onto his familiar bed, Alex suddenly remembered Hex's parting words.

With a searching hand he fished his trusty old laptop from under the bed. It was a simple dated HP with a single sticker decorating the front; it read 'Who dares, wins'.

Booting up the old device he quickly opened his Gmail and was unsurprised to see he had over two hundred unread emails waiting for him.

Alex resigned himself to try and sort through them over the next week, but for now contented himself with opening the email that sat at the very top from a certain hacker.

The subject line of the email was worryingly empty, he noted as he double clicked on the message to open it.

It was a short message from his friend and contained an attached file;

* * *

><p><span>Alex,<span>

Just a file that I found while digging through Usher's computer and I thought it might be of use to you.

Good to see you have stopped running, nice to have you back mate.

Hex.

* * *

><p>Alex smiled at the supportive message from his friend and with a sense of foreboding, double clicked on the untitled attachment.<p>

It opened on his screen to reveal a short personal profile with an address and contact details at the very bottom.

His breath caught in his throat for a second, before he remembered Hex's words.

_Yeah I'm finished running,_ he agreed reaching for the phone on its cradle beside his bed. Alex knew this was something that he had to face, something he had to do.

Double and triple checking the number, he slowly punched it in on the keypad as well as the corresponding international prefix required.

Alex's throat was dry and his hands so sweaty he almost dropped the phone, as the dial tone sounded.

He could almost imagine the phone ringing on the other side of the world.

Alex felt like he was running a marathon, with the rate his heart was going and the familiar light nausea in his stomach.

His guts did a little flip as the dial tone suddenly cut out with a click and was replaced with a voice.

"Hello?" A memorable, soft voice answered on the other end.

Alex struggled to breathe again and it took a concentrated effort before he could reply.

"Hi Camilla, it's Alex…

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><p><strong>AN- **Woooooahhh finished :) What a mammoth effort, I hope you all like the ending and yes it is the end! Probably.

I can't really thank all my readers and reviewers enough; you guys are freaking legends and helped motivate me to finish the story. Massive thanks to all of you, some of which have been with me since the start of the journey.

It feels like too many of you to name but I'm going to give it a damn good go:

_Optomistic Emo Kleptomaniac, The Emerald' Charmspeaker, DammitimmaD, Moonhera, wildchild17, Julia, Elledreamer._

_Emmadactryl_; Whom I recommend reading her stories and keeping an eye on in case she decides to release something in the not to distant future to trump my stories ;p You go girl!

Last but most certainly not least; the amazing _I read not write_, a constant inspiration..

A couple of points here before I sign off;

-Yes I have a couple of AF oneshots in the works so keep an eye peeled for those in the not so distant future. Also a new original short story, completely different to my other sappy one and with a bit of action in it! Like the other lame one it will be up on Fiction Press under this same pen name by the end of the week. I call it **Returns**.

-If I can think of an idea for a survival guide, I will tack it on the end of this story so note the complete classification is with the exception of that. Open to suggestions on that front too, so let me know if there is anything you want to learn about. Failing that I could do a second part to my self-defence one.

-I realise there are a few grammatical errors within my works, especially **Aid Conflict** (Jeez what was I thinking?). So I will be heading back over the next month and trying to fix those.

-Apparently I'm still a Beta-reader so happy to lend a hand if you are writing your own fic, just flick me a message.

That's about it (Jeez Grey, you author notes are about as long as the damn epilogue itself!)

Until next time.

**-**_**Grey.**_


	26. Grey's Guide To Firearms Safety

**A/N- **Hey ya folks, thought I'd write a basic survival guide for use and contact with firearms. Maybe not as cool and ritzy as the past two guides, but to be honest I had a real hard time deciding what to write this guide on.

Note: this guide is intended for entertainment purposes and while educational should not be used as a stand alone manual for small squad tactics, weapon classification or general gun safety. Think of it as a basic introduction to the different types of firearms and a few additional notes.

**-Grey (Gunner) Southpaw**

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><p><strong>Grey's Guide to Firearms Safety.<strong>

Repercussion was quite the rooting tooting adventure for Alpha Force, largely due to a greater addition of firearms into the mix. Firearms in this instance, refers to the small arms designed for personal use by an individual that utilise gunpowder and gaseous propulsion to fire projectiles (Bullets) at high speed. Pretty much they are small enough for a man to carry, they go bang and lots of deadly metal come out one end.

Examples of this include pistols, rifles and shotguns.

Lets get one thing straight from the get go; Firearms are designed for the sole purpose of killing things by making great big holes in them. The rounds they fire are made out of a metal harder then System of a Down*****, called lead. Lead is not a mineral the body wants, especially when it is travelling at 300 metres per second.

Guns are carried by hunters, the police, militaries worldwide and criminals for the sole reason that they are very effective at killing. A gun, however does not discriminate between good guys, bad guys, deer or even the person holding it, so it is vital that people understands a little bit about them and how to stay safe.

I shouldn't have to say that like Alpha Force; you should only use a firearm in the most absolute dire of circumstances for self-defence. Any time you pick up a gun you must be prepared to kill.

For soldiers and the like this is not a problem, there is conditioning and training they go through to use and be safe around weapons, but your average Joe (or Jane, I'm not sexist!) typically doesn't.

Your training begins now ;)

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><p><strong>Types of Firearms.<strong>

Okay plenty of different types of firearms in the world, each designed for a specific purpose. The following is not an all-inclusive list, but not a bad general outline.

**Pistols:**

We'll start with the lowest velocity and ranged weapon of the lot. The pistol or handgun is just that; a portable, more easily concealable shooting device. It was originally designed as an extension to the limited range of killing provided by a knife. There are thousands of different models of pistol in manufacture today across hundreds of different countries; they come in a range of pretty colours and sizes. They can be single shot, semi-automatic (rounds fire as quickly as you pull trigger) or capable of fully automatic fire (Hold trigger in and bullets keep spraying until you are empty or your finger gets tired.)

The range is short; from punching distance to about fifty metres is the standard effective range of most pistols. Still plenty of range to share the love, or hate, as it is more likely to be. The velocity (or speed that the bullet leaves the barrel) is slow in comparison to other types of firearm around 800-1500 fps. Accordingly, most rounds will penetrate the body but not have sufficient speed to exit it.

Pistol bullets are large, heavy and tend to stay in the body, similar to a Double Whopper from Burgerking (Hungry Jack's for my Australian brethren and sistren), they vary greatly in size (calibre). Law enforcement tends to use hollow-point rounds that will expand on impact and create greater wound cavitation. This prevents the bullets going through a target to hit innocents and also increases the chances of killing the crackhead they were aiming at with their first shot.

Note: purpose built for killing people! Incredibly dangerous due to the ease of concealment and availability, especially in the Americas.

**Shotguns:**

Another short range firearm, but with ridiculous stopping power from a greater mass from scattered shot projectiles. Used mainly for hunting or recreational shooting (Claybird and Skeet taste awful by the way), often utilised in home defence, especially on rural properties. The range is dependant on what type of ammo or 'shot' is being used and can vary greatly. Very dangerous and tends to make mincemeat of human flesh at close range. Much greater recoil or 'kick' when firing though and accuracy is often a problem as range increases.

Shotgun shells usually contain a charge with a whole bunch of smaller pellets that spread out from the barrel when fired. These pellets disperse over distance but up close they transfer colossal amounts of force and whopping great big, messy wounds. A hight fatality rate arises from the spread of these shots and multiple systems affected. At close range they pretty much fire the pellets as one solid mass or 'wad' that is in effect just one big nasty bullet.

It is hampered by the reduced capacity to carry ammunition and slower rate of fire. Many models will often only manage half a dozen rounds before the firer is empty and forced to reload. When it hits though, jeez it just turns people into bloody pulp with legs.

Rounds can vary from non-lethal, like the beanbag rounds that some police and riot forces utilise, through to the ultra modern, ultra lethal. The ability to fire Mini-grenade rounds that can contain any number of payloads is relatively new, while the equally deadly application of flechette rounds is old news, albeit horribly disfiguring old news. Flechettes are basically sharp little bits of metal, so yeah just imagine having a small cloud of a hundred or so of them coming at you, like a swarm of the worlds sharpest, angriest bees.

**Rifles:**

They come in two varieties; Civilian and military models. Often scoped and used for hunting from a greater distance then shotguns, the military models are used almost exclusively for hunting humans. High velocity and very long range, these monsters will reach out and touch bad people from up to a kilometre away in some instances. Greater penetration of cover and body armour, but depends on ammunition type. Tend to be slower to fire and have smaller magazines, like the shotgun, especially if it is an older or bolt-actioned weapon. Also like the shotgun, the civilian rifle is often a tool for farmers and is often utilised in rural home defence.

Military rifles use armour-piercing rounds, designed to punch through body armour and give one great big middle finger to the engineers at Kevlar.

Civilian hunting rifles use rounds designed to make big holes in unarmoured targets; usually deer, goats or pigs. When I say big holes, I mean like you can stick a hand through to the other side. Sadly they work just as well against unarmoured humans.

Not pretty. This group of weapons is where the saying 'you can run, but you will only die tired' originates from.

**Assault Rifles:**

The Merc's favourite. A true military grade weapon; purpose built to cut down fellow humans as quickly and efficiently as possible. High velocity, long range and very fast firing; a deadly combination. Most, if not all will be semiautomatic with the option for fully automatic fire. The users of these weapons will typically be from the military or elite policing units, have a higher level of training than most and less hesitation when it comes to shooting a sucker. They come in all shapes and sizes, including shorter barrelled or cut down versions in the form of carbines or submachine guns. Depending on combatants too, these weapons may be equipped with any number of nifty optional extras, including special sights, bayonets and even grenade launchers.

Freely marketed to the general public in a shockingly high number of countries and the staple weapon for any cartel or coup worth it's salt. Scary stuff!

Magazines ranging from twenty to a hundred; hide and pray they run out of damn ammo!

**Machine Guns:**

A subgroup from the Assault rifle, but differentiated by its different purpose and feeding mechanism. Basically it is designed more as an area or suppression weapon that blitzes off massive quantities of lead at an absolutely insane rate of fire. The rounds come out quicker and can travel for kilometres unless stopped by an unfortunate something or someone.

These weapons and their ammunition are always really heavy, making them a real pain in the arse to carry any real distance. A two-man operation, with one man carrying and shooting, while the other spots targets for him and helps him reload.

Not a common group of weapon; usually isolated to militaries or particularly well-funded drug lords.

The ammo mostly comes in long chain links that feed directly into the weapon, but sustained fire can only last a couple of hundred rounds before the barrel gets too hot and needs changing. These guns often use a special type of ammo called tracer, which is visible to the naked eye, especially at night and allows the gunner to roughly see where his rounds are going. Make for a pretty groovy light show as long as they aren't coming your way.

Machine guns inflict massive damage through larger, faster rounds and lots of them. To give you an idea of the comparative firepower, even an average machinegun still provides the equivalent of ten assault rifles in military capability.

The sound of an extended burst from one of these things is literally the last thing many people have heard before they die.

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><p><strong>Gun Handling and Safety.<strong>

Good and scared of all the nasty tools of death out there yet? Heck I know I am!

What we'll move onto some just general safety points when handling a weapon.

**Trigger:**

It doesn't matter what type of weapon it is, they all have some type of trigger that you squeeze to start spewing hot lead at whoever or whatever poor sonofa b**** that has offended you. At it's most basic it is a simple curved hook of metal that initiates the striking mechanism inside the weapon. Rounds should not be fired if the trigger is not pulled. Ergo, it is commonsense that if you don't want nasty little lead accidents occurring, keep your finger outside of the weapons trigger guard and away from the little lever unless you actually have something you want to shoot. This is such a simple thing, but even professionals so often forget this basic safety practice.

Speaking of safety, some weapons (especially automatic ones) will have a button or switch that you can activate to make the weapon unable to or very difficult to fire. If your gun has one, activate it now. There? Don't you feel safer already?

**Magazine/Ammunition:**

Firearms are only deadly when they have something to shoot out of them (unless you have a bayonet or are a fan of delivering a good old fashioned pistol-whipping). Bullets, rounds, shells, slugs, whatever you want to call them, these projectiles are the real dangerous things in a gun. Accordingly, a great safety practice when picking up a weapon is to ensure that it is empty. To do this you will need to pick up the weapon, keeping your fingers well clear of the trigger and enabling the safety if it has one. From there eject any external magazine (The container that houses the bullets) that is present, there is typically a release catch close to where the mag attaches. In pistols or submachine guns where the mag often fits inside the pistol grip, there is generally a small button on the handgrip that will release the magazine from its internal housing.

Remove mag and expose firing chamber to check for rounds, cock weapon again if there are rounds in the chamber, this will eject them. If you then want to use this weapon yourself, slap that mag back in, cock the sucker and you are ready to go to town (Not literally! I do not advocate that!)

**Barrel:**

This is the business end, bullets come out of here; so don't point it at me or anyone you love. Always keep this end pointed in a safe direction.

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><p><strong>General Safe Gun Handling Tips: <strong>

-Don't pick up a weapon that isn't yours if you haven't been taught about it unless it is an absolute emergency. I'm talking like, need to immediately make Swiss cheese out of the gang member who has broken into your home, kind of emergency.

-Store weapons safely where kiddies, irresponsible adults, intruders and enraged ex-girlfriends cannot access them. Store ammo separately if feasible.

-This thing is not a bloody toy, don't play with it or be stupid; someone will not live to regret it!

-If you are going to own a gun, learn to shoot it at a local range or farm. If you are going to keep it, you damn well want to know how to use it and preferably to be able to hit stuff too would be nice. There are too many points for me to cover on actually firing, to include that in this summary!

-Maintenance; if you are carrying or using a weapon, know how to disassemble and clean it. A clean, well-maintained weapon SHOULD fire every time and do so safely. It doesn't take much effort, a bit of oil and an old rag, and then you can get back to shooting squirrels in the park or whatever you are going to do with it.

-It kinda goes with maintenance, but don't try firing any gun underwater or if there is an obstruction in the barrel. That shit only works in the movies and in real life it goes real bad, real fast!

-One thing you shouldn't tamper with though is your bullets; take them out and clean them if they are dirty, but that is it. 'Dum-duming' rounds, dipping them in bacon grease or notching rounds to change their effect is unadvisable and often leaves the bullets unreliable.

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><p><strong>Safety Under Fire.<strong>

Okay through with the mandatory safety stuff we can get onto to the more extreme side of things; what to do if you are taking rounds.

So this is pretty much the worst-case scenario no matter who you are. I'm not going to delve too much into how you may have got into this situation, instead we'll cut straight to something more useful; what to do.

**Cover:**

A great first step when rounds are coming down your way is to get somewhere safer. Duh. Get behind the nearest thing that might spare you a bullet or two and you need to get there just as damn quick as you can. This is called cover, as in hide behind it, cover your head and hope the bad people get sleepy and go home.

Now some things will stop a round better then others and I'll attempt to clear up some of the misconceptions about that.

First off it obviously depends on what is being fired at you; a machine gun or decent marksman's weapon will punch great big holes through most types of wall. The movies have let you down, by showing you that the hero can hide behind the plasterboard wall and breath a sigh of relief as bullets smack harmlessly against it.

Heavy calibre weapons, like those that fire 7.62mm rounds, will go straight through wood and almost anything short of concrete to fillet foolish sheltering protagonists.

The same wall may however stop the slower rounds of a pistol and decent brickwork will even disperse a lot of the blast from a shotgun.

**Concealment:**

Hiding behind the couch, that wooden fence or a car? Nope, that won't stop Jack.

Sorry to say it, but the cop movies have deceived you again; unless your police cruiser is actually armoured, (they aren't) bullets will go straight through the cheap thin metal of your door panels. And your partner was just one day away from retirement too!

What you may have there though, is concealment.

Concealment is a place to hide from the shooter's vision, while it won't stop a round it does mean it is harder for him to see you. Theoretically, you cannot hit what you cannot see, so it is better then nothing. Not by a huge amount though ;p

Examples of this would include bushes, fences, tall grass.

No cover or concealment in sight? Best thing you can do then is get down. Fast.

Lie down on your stomach if possible, the idea here is to reduce your profile and therefore the target you present. In this situation you may feel like you just can't get close enough to the ground and you would be right. From here you need to keep your eyes peeled for a safer place to get to. Crawl there if you have the cover or concealment to do so on the way, otherwise you are going to have to make a bound.

Moving Under Fire:

Running feels like a good idea when you are being shot at, but unfortunately unless you have a distinct advantage in that area, you are probably going to catch a bullet in the back. The longer a moving target is present for, the longer the shooter has to adjust to their speed and direction to apply aim off to finally score a hit.

Therefore if you do have to run under gunfire you want to keep it short and preferably only between cover. Three to five long paces is about the maximum you can safely do before enemy fire starts becoming accurate. Three to Five, stay alive they say in the army. After those paces if you don't have cover, drop to the prone again and crawl off on an angle for a bit before getting up and going again. If you can time it with your oppositions reloading that is even better, you know, because they have to stop shooting and everything.

**Returning Fire:**

If you or someone else in your group is a lucky little bunny and has a firearm of their own, they can provide suppressing fire while the other person moves. Just fire in their general vicinity and keep it up until your buddy has finished his bound. Put simply you want your enemy too be too preoccupied with the rounds coming over his head to try advancing or shooting back. Believe me when I say that it is bloody frightening having rounds coming over top, noone is keen to pop their head up to take a shot while that is going on.

You may remember that this is the trick that Alex, Paulo and Camilla utilised at the end of Aid Conflict to slow the hunter force.

**Crossfire:**

Watch out for the blue on blue though; friendly fire, isn't. When there are more then one side with guns it is fairly easy to get caught in the cross fire or disorientated into firing at targets that may actually be friendly. Move carefully and always identify yourself to friendly forces. At the same, pay attention to the movement in the battle and have no doubt in your mind who you are shooting at before you pull the trigger.

**Bullet-proof Vests:**

A word on 'bullet-proof vests.' A bit of a misnomer, depending on what is being shot at you and how good your vest is. It is unlikely you will be wearing one of these unless you are in a military operations zone, a crazy survivalist or involved with law enforcement.

A decent vest should stop a low velocity round like the slug from a standard pistol, but will do you absolutely no good against a rifle round. This is especially true with military grade ammo that is especially designed to make it through armour and waste organs. There are vests out at the moment that will stop up to a 7.62mm sniper round from 400m, but they are incredibly expensive and that doesn't look at changing any time soon.

Regardless even if the vest does stop the bullet they impact alone can still be enough to break ribs and cause internal bleeding.

Remember too, it is still, you know, a vest; so they can still shoot you in the arms, legs and head.

Of those three, head is particularly bad ;)

**Close Quarters:**

My last point for this section; don't try and take a gun off a gunman at close range unless you have absolutely nothing else to lose. Even a Krav Maga instructor returning from an instructors conference, would be foolish to try it on when he is being robbed at gunpoint. Bullets move so much faster then hands and have a habit of putting a permanent stop to guys with 'White Knight syndrome'.

Bear in mind, this advice is coming from someone who is quite the badass (yes I meant me!), close quarters is my specialty, but even I wouldn't try take a gun unless it was pretty obviously that, or die.

Screw that, give me a meth head with a blade to tackle instead any day!

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><p>So that is the basic rundown on firearms guys, as well as the last survival guide I'll write. As always, I hope you never have to use any of this, but hey you never know.<p>

BE SAFE

BE PREPARED

BE QUIET

_**Grey.**_

_FanFiction and The Grey Southpaw would like to make it clear that this advice is given for use in a serious situation only, where your life could be at risk. We cannot accept any liability for inappropriate usage in normal conditions._

*****Badass 90's Metal/Rock band, headed by the incredible vocals of Serj Tankian; if you haven't listened to them you are missing out on life and I pity you :(


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